Podcasts about Belize

Exclusive Deals For Reading With Your Kids Listeners! Visit www.zivo.life and use the promo code READ to get 30% off The Better Microalgae – your ultimate daily nutrient boost! Visit www.BigForkBrands.com and use the promo code READ to get 20% off the most delicious pork snacks ever. Visit www.CozyEarth.com and use the promo code READ to get an incredible 41% off their ultra cozy and comfy bedding. In this episode of “Reading with Your Kids,” we dive into the world of STEM picture books and musical adventures for children! The show kicks off with author Ashley Moseley and conservationist Dr. Michael Windelspecht, who chat about their collaborative books, “Nacho House Cat” and “Why Did the Tapir Cross the Street?” Ashley shares how her passion for working with kids and animal conservation inspired her stories, while Michael brings in his expertise from years of leading educational trips to Belize. Together, they explain how their books use fun stories and beautiful hand-painted illustrations to teach kids about jaguars, tapirs, and the importance of wildlife conservation—without overwhelming them with heavy science. There's even a fun classroom activity where kids draw jaguar spot patterns! Next up, we meet Steve Giddings from Prince Edward Island, Canada, who introduces his new children's book, “Mikey's New Friends.” Steve, a music educator and multi-instrumentalist, tells us about Mikey the microphone and his journey to find his place in a band. The story explores themes of friendship, teamwork, and embracing new experiences—plus, it's packed with musical fun! Steve shares how his own love of music and teaching inspired the series, and how he hopes it encourages kids to find their own creative paths, whether in traditional bands or rock groups. He also touches on the role of AI in music and writing, seeing it as a helpful tool when used ethically. The episode wraps up with a peek into life on Prince Edward Island, famous for Anne of Green Gables, stunning beaches, and a tight-knit community. Both segments highlight the joy of learning, creativity, and the power of stories to connect kids with the world around them. Click here to visit our website – www.ReadingWithYourKids.com Follow Us On Social Media Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/readingwithyourkids Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/readingwithyourkids/ X - https://x.com/jedliemagic LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/reading-with-your-kids-podcast/ Please consider leaving a review of this episode and the podcast on whatever app you are listening on, it really helps!

Nancy Matsumoto is the author of Reaping What She Sows: How Women Are Rebuilding Our Broken Food System, which will be released in October but is available for pre-order now. The book is a collection of stories about women that are creating alternative food networks. They are building out local and regional supply chains in the face of overwhelming odds and the destructiveness of industrial agriculture. While the book traces how broken our global food system is, it's quite hopeful. All of the women featured are doing something about it. They are making changes. They are building something.We talk a lot about supply chains, how long they are and the work that it takes to shorten them. We talk about how an obscure Eurasian grass called kernza is having a positive impact on landscapes in the north central US while being used to create beer. How cacao producers in Belize and Guatemala are getting organized to better their situation. If you want to be inspired in making the changes you want to see in the world, read this book. We also talk with Nancy about the art of writing. We actually have the same agent and have faced a lot of the same challenges in the media industry, which has become nearly impossible to navigate. Putting non-fiction narrative books like this together require tremendous amounts of time and patience, yet we do it because these are important stories to tell. Nancy has also written the books Exploring the World of Japanese Craft Sake and By the Shore of Lake Michigan, a translation of WWII-era Japanese concentration camp poetry. Again, the latest book is Reaping What She Sows: How Women Are Rebuilding Our Broken Food System. Order a copy or follow Nancy on her just launched Substack, Reaping, which follows some of the stories from the book. --Host: Nicholas GillCo-host: Juliana DuqueProduced by Nicholas Gill & Juliana Duque Recording & Editing by New Worlder https://www.newworlder.com Read more at New Worlder: https://www.newworlder.com

We recently talked about Tamara's trip to the Galapagos but today we are talking more about the logistics about traveling to Ecuador and some travel tips. Tamara spent 17 nights in Ecuador, including 5 nights in the Galapagos and found it a warm and welcoming country with beautiful and diverse landscapes. Amazing Ecuador helped Tamara organize her trip. Episode Highlights Most flights from the U.S. come into Quito or Guayaquil It is only 3.5 hours from Miami There are many regions including the Cloud Forest, Rainforest, volcanoes and mountains, National Parks, Galapagos, and more Tamara spent: 5 nights in the Galapagos, 1 night at Hacienda La Danesa, 2 nights in Cuenca, 1 night in Cotopaxi National Park, 3 nights in Quito, 2 nights in the Cloud Forest at the Mashpi Lodge, 2 nights at Hacienda Zuleta It helps to work with someone to figure out your priorities and build an itinerary around your interests Generally you want to spend at least two to three nights in each place Cuenca is a UNESCO heritage city with plenty of outdoor adventure nearby too Cotopaxi is at a higher elevation, making hikes challenging If you just have a week, fly in and out of Guayaquil and do the Galapagos and Hacienda La Danesa Safety - you need to be very careful after dark in Quito and other cities and beware of pickpockets. Don't walk around after dark, especially alone Ecuador uses the U.S. dollar as their official currency but most places also take credit cards but you will want small bills for tipping and the handicraft markets Many of the hotels are all-inclusive with meals and some activities Ecuador is a huge exporter of roses and through some regions you will see many roadside stands of 25-50 roses for less than $5 Tamara recommends getting a driver because the roads are not very well marked, some aren't in the best condition, Google Maps isn't reliable, and drivers are very aggressive There are a range of four star boutique hotels and luxury hotels Ecuadorian food is very fresh and utilizes year-round produce of veggies and fruit Most meals start with a soup and then have a salad or vegetables. Fish and ceviche is quite popular. Quinoa is a popular grain You shouldn't drink the tap water in Ecuador but the produce at good restaurants and hotels are washed in filtered water Guinea pig is also popular in Ecuador as it is in Peru Chocolate and coffee are also grown in Ecuador and very popular Ecuador is the most densely populated country in South America If you have liked Costa Rica or Belize, you will probably also like Ecuador Related Episodes: Galapagos cruise Mother-daughter trip to Peru Winelands of Chile Chile's Atacama Desert

Frustrated by the hoopla over Bourbons, with their relative scarcity and high pricing, Mike Gilmore decided to take a different tack. He started searching the world for alternatives to Bourbon, and found them in Armagnacs, Cognacs, and Rums from Barbados to Belize. For the last three years, he's been bottling them under his Roaming Road Spirits label, while also exporting Bourbons from his collection of barrels to Ireland and finishing them in Irish Whiskey barrels. We'll talk with Mike Gilmore on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, a receiver has been named for Uncle Nearest Tennessee Whiskey, while the Waterford Distillery receivership may not be resolved until next year. 

Another "Shots Across the Bow" episode of the Always Be Booked Cruise Podcast with your host Tommy Casabona. Some Stories covered this week: Carnival's new waterpark Chicken Tender Conflicts Trouble in Perfect Day Mexico? Belize recruitments Margaritaville as Sea Brings Back an old offer much more

Send us a Text: Ask Us a Question!Today on Waypoints, we're heading north to Alberta and British Columbia – an area that is home to vast landscapes, wild rivers, prairie grasslands, and a setting that rivals anything found in the American West. Joining us is Dave Brown of Dave Brown Outfitters, a pioneer in Canadian flyfishing who has spent more than three decades shaping one of the largest and most respected outfitting operations in the region. A former paratrooper and decorated infantry leader, Dave's path into guiding was anything but conventional, and his story is as unique as the waters he calls home.From the iconic Bow River to the freestone streams of the Canadian Rockies, and from dry-fly browns and rainbows to the pursuit of wild steelhead, Dave has built an outfitting program that blends professionalism, wilderness adventure, and next-level customer service. In this episode, we talk with Dave about his military background, his journey into guiding, and what makes Alberta and B.C. such special – and easy – destinations for anglers. We'll also explore how he's grown a cross-border operation that seamlessly combines flyfishing, wingshooting, and Western adventure while staying true to the craft of guiding and the conservation of the waters he depends on.After the success of the 2024 Belize and 2023 Baja Bluegrass events, we're excited to bring the experience back to Belize for 2025. Join us November 4–9 at El Pescador Lodge on Ambergris Caye for a five-night, all-inclusive fishing, beach, and bluegrass getaway—exclusively for 30 couples.Waypoints is brought to you by PatagoniaTo bring their gear to life, Patagonia is motivated by relentless curiosity and a passion for the wild. They evaluate hundreds of materials, build dozens of prototypes and spend seasons punishing them in the world's most extreme conditions. The work is the guide, and Patagonia never tires of exploring, learning and improving. Built with innovative materials, intuitive features and a refined fit, their Swiftcurrent® Waders are a better wader experience. Repatterned for bulk reduction, reduced seam stress, increased maneuverability and improved repairability, they move better in and out of the water, carry gear more efficiently and keep tools handy. They're made from recycled materials without intentionally added PFAS—toxic “forever chemicals.- Follow us on Instagram- Follow us on Facebook- Check out our YouTube Page- View the official Yellow Dog website ...

The Incredible Mariel Leslie joined the podcast to talk shop about Public land, Fisheries, Wildland Firefighting, fishing in Belize, and much more! Watch the full episode to hear more.

This week we talk about flesh-eating screwworms, weeds, and the US cattle industry.We also discuss genetic modification, procreation, and tsetse flies.Recommended Book: 1177 BC by Eric H ClineTranscriptThe term ‘autocidal control‘ refers to a collection of techniques that are meant to control populations of some type of living thing, animal or plant, by disrupting their procreationary capacity.So rather than attempting to control pest by spraying poisons all over the place, or controlling plants you consider to be invasive weeds by launching huge weed-pulling efforts in the afflicted areas, you might instead figure out how to keep this current generation of pests and weeds from having as many offspring as they might otherwise have, and then repeat the process with the next generation, and the next, and so on, until the unwanted species is either eradicated in the relevant region, or reduced to such a small number that its presence is no longer such a big deal.There are all kinds of approaches one might take in trying to achieve this sort of outcome.Experimental genetic modification measures, for instance, have been tried in, so far at least, limited ways, the idea being to either make the disliked species less competitive in some way (by making them slower, and thus more likely to be eaten by predators, maybe), or by making them less likely to have offspring, or less likely to have fit offspring—the next generation becomes super slow and clumsy, or they're carriers of a gene that keeps them from procreating as much, or at all.That approach seems like it could be effective, and there are quite a few efforts, globally, that're working to refine and perfect it with mosquito species in particular, specifically the ones that are carriers of malaria-causing parasites and similar maladies that cause immense harm to local human (and other mammal) populations.There have also been attempts to spray mating grounds with pheromones that disrupt mating behavior, or to use what's called the Autodissemination Augmented by Males, or ADAM approach, which has been used to decent effect in some trials, and which involves basically just sprinkling a bunch of male mosquitos with pesticide, releasing them into mosquito mating grounds, and then having them deliver those pesticides to the females they mate with.All of these efforts are meant to reduce populations via some procreationary mechanism, while also attempting to ameliorate some of the other issues associated with other, widely used pest- and weed-control approaches. Most of which rely on some kind of chemical being introduced into the right environment, that chemical helping to kill or disrupt these populations, but in many cases also leading to unwanted, and often initially unforeseen side effects, like those chemicals messing with other species, getting into the groundwater and possibly being associated with maladies in humans, and so on.What I'd like to talk about today is another approach, the sterile insect technique, why it's become so popular in recent decades, and how it's being used, today, to address a burgeoning population of a pest that was previously eliminated in North America using this technique, but which has recently become a problem, once more.—The New World screwworm fly is thus named because its larvae, its baby offspring, are planted in warm-blooded animals. These offspring eat not just dead tissues, like the maggots of other flies, but healthy tissues as well.These maggots are often deposited near wounds, like cuts or scrapes, but also injuries caused by the castration or dehorning of cattle, or orifices and other sensitive areas with soft tissue, like the corner of a host's eye.They don't typically infest humans, but it does happen, and they're most likely to be found on wild and domesticated mammals, the females of the species depositing somewhere between 250 and 500 eggs in the flesh of their hosts, the maggots screwing their way deeper into their host's flesh as they grow, burrowing and eating for the next three to seven days, at which point they fall off and enter the next stage of their lifecycle. By that point the host may already be dead, depending on the extent of the damage these things manage to cause in the interim.These flies were originally found across the Americas and on some Caribbean islands, and they have long been a headache for cattle ranchers in particular, as they will sometimes infect one cow or goat, and then work their way through the entire herd in relatively short order, causing enough damage to seriously injure or kill a whole lot of the rancher's stock.As a result, humans have been trying to get rid of these things for ages, but nothing seemed to make much of a dent in their populations until the emergence of what's called the sterile insect technique, which is exactly what it sounds like: a method of autocidal control that involves sterilizing members of the species, usually the males, and then releasing them back into the population.Variations on this concept were developed by a few different researchers in a few different places around the world in the lead-up to WWII, but just after that conflict, scientists working at the US Department of Agriculture realized that they could use x-rays to reliably sterilize male screwworm flies, and that if they did this to a large number of them, then released those males into the local population of screwworm flies, to the point where there are more sterilized males than non-sterilized ones, that would serve to dramatically reduce the size of the next generation. If you then repeat this over and over again, you can eventually wipe out the species in a given region, as they successfully showed in the early 1950s by eradicating all the screwworms on Sanibel Island in Florida.The same technique was then used to kill all the screwworms on the island of Curacao, off the coast of Venezuela—that kill-off achieved in just seven weeks. Over the next few decades, sterilized male flies were then released across other afflicted US states, and both Mexico and Belize were able to kill all their screwworms in the 1980s, followed by Central America in the 1990s.This approach was also applied to other pests, almost always those that either spread disease to humans, or threatened local industries, like cattle or agricultural industries.For instance, tsetse flies, carriers of a parasite that causes sleeping sickness, were entirely or almost entirely eradicated from Tanzania, Zanzibar, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Uganda between the 1940s and late-1990s, Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the carriers of dengue and yellow fever, were sterilized by a bacteria called Wolbachia in Queensland, Australia, in the late-20-teens, which reduced the populations of this disease-carrier in trial areas by 80%, and Japan eradicated the melon fly, an agricultural pest, in 1993.This approach to pest-control has become so popular that dozens of facilities have been set up in countries around the world, exclusively to breed and sterilize different species, which can then be shipped to where they will be released. The first of these facilities was built in Mexico in the 1960s, where Mexican fruit flies were bred and then shipped for release in Texas.It's maybe fitting then that a new round of construction is happening, today, intending to combat the renewed presence of screwworms in Mexico, which have been making their way up into Texas via these two nations' cattle industries.The US Department of Agriculture recently announced that it will be building a sterile screwworm fly facility in Texas, which has suffered due to the US's recent decisions to halt the import of cattle from across the border in Mexico due to issues with screwworms hitching a ride on that cattle stock, and thus infiltrating US herds. The government tried several times to drop this cessation of imports, as the US cattle industry is pretty reliant on those imports, but each time they tried, new screwworm infestations were found, and the import halt was put back into place.US cattle populations are already at their lowest level in decades, and that's impacting meat and dairy prices, while also putting other warm-blooded animals in the afflicted regions, especially Texas, at risk.The folks behind the new facility have said they hope to be up and running in relatively short order, aiming to be releasing sterile male New World screwworms into the wild within a year. This deployment will operate in tandem with other, more direct efforts, like fly traps and parasite-sniffing dogs stationed at ports of entry.The concerns here are not just theoretical: screwworms alone cause an estimated $1.5 billion in damage each year, and the cost of implementing a sterilization program of this kind usually adds up to something like a billion dollars, spread across decades; not a bad return on investment.These programs are not universally effective, though, as in some rare cases non-irradiated males have accidentally been shipped to their intended mating location, temporarily inflating rather than deflating population numbers. And while these programs are relatively cheap to operate on scale, the cost of producing enough sterilized males to make such an effort effective can be prohibitive when aimed at smaller regions, or when attempted by governments or agencies without the budget to see what can sometimes be a long-term project through.That said, this approach does seem to work very well when done correctly, and while its ecosystem impact is not zero, as, for instance, predators who eat these pests might suddenly find themselves without one of their staple food sources, which can lead to knock-on effects across the food web, it does seem to be one of the least foodweb ripple-producing approaches, as genetic modifications can theoretically lead to far more elaborate unforeseen consequences, and the widespread spraying of chemicals has semi-regularly led to die-offs and maladies in other local species, in addition to sometimes causing long-term, even fatal health problems for humans who rely on local food or water sources.Show Noteshttps://archive.is/20250815192422/https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/usda-build-texas-facility-fight-flesh-eating-screwworms-2025-08-15/https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2025/08/how-to-stop-flesh-eating-parasite-from-devastating-us-cattle-government-will-breed-billions-of-flies.htmlhttps://apnews.com/article/fly-factories-flesheating-parasite-cattle-texas-429ce91225bbab4a45c9040f1be356a5https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochliomyia_hominivoraxhttps://archive.is/14Rdkhttps://archive.is/afmt2https://archive.is/QfTvGhttps://archive.is/dxbcZhttps://www.oregonlive.com/business/2025/08/how-to-stop-flesh-eating-parasite-from-devastating-us-cattle-government-will-breed-billions-of-flies.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterile_insect_techniquehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sterile_insect_technique_trialshttps://web.archive.org/web/20210416164524/http://www-iswam.iaea.org/drd/refs_files/195_The-Area-wide-SIT-Screwworm.pdfhttps://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/sterile-insect-technique-used-to-suppress-mosquito-disease-vectors-in-floridahttps://www.cdc.gov/mosquitoes/mosquito-control/genetically-modified-mosquitoes.htmlhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-30722-9https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4313646/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe

Keith discusses the recent executive order by the White House, which could bring Americans closer to retirement plan access for real estate, private equity, and crypto. He also interviews two listeners:  Luke Frizell, a Navy officer who leverages principles from the show to invest in residential assisted living (RAL) properties, and Dr. Axel Meierhoefer, who uses turnkey properties and agricultural investments to build a diversified portfolio.  Both guests share their strategies and insights into real estate investing.  Resources: Explore the exclusive Texas income property deals available to Get Rich Education listeners, with up to $41,000 in incentives, book a strategy session here. Show Notes: GetRichEducation.com/567 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE  or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments.  You get paid first: Text FAMILY to 66866 Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search “how to leave an Apple Podcasts review”  For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— text ‘GRE' to 66866 Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript: Keith, welcome to GRE. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, it's an episode focused on you as we feature two GRE listener guests today. See how they've leveraged listening to this show into real world, real estate investing action then a property opportunity to announce to you on get rich education.   Keith Weinhold  0:27   Since 2014 the powerful get rich education podcast has created more passive income for people than nearly any other show in the world. This show teaches you how to earn strong returns from passive real estate investing in the best markets without losing your time being a flipper or landlord. Show Host Keith Weinhold writes for both Forbes and Rich Dad advisors and delivers a new show every week since 2014 there's been millions of listener downloads in 188 world nations. He has a list show guests and key top selling personal finance author Robert Kiyosaki, get rich education can be heard on every podcast platform, plus it has its own dedicated Apple and Android listener phone apps build wealth on the go with the get rich education podcast. Sign up now for the get rich education podcast, or visit get rich education.com   Speaker 1  1:12   You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is get rich education.   Keith Weinhold  1:22   Welcome to GRE from Mannheim, Germany, to Mannheim, Pennsylvania and across 188 nations worldwide. You're listening to get rich Education. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, you probably grew up playing the board game Monopoly. Well, imagine playing Monopoly and never buying an asset that generates income. What if you just went around the board collecting $200 giving your money to the rich and trying to stay out of jail. Does that sound ridiculous? Well, that's how most people live their lives. We don't do that here at GRE we add real assets that pay us while we own them, and more and more people can potentially soon get exposure to these asset types. The White House recently reported that Trump made an executive order that is bringing Americans closer to getting retirement plan access to real estate, private equity and crypto. I mean, think about what that could do to overall real estate demand, pushing up prices. It could make the industry boom. Sort of how the advent of 401, KS helped the stock market boom. Also, another development is that in order to qualify for mortgage loans, crypto could soon be used as an asset in your mortgage qualification. That's per the FHFA, and that's what they're moving toward. Now there's been a lot of novel information and developments and stories like that this year, as we're in a presidential administration that shakes up all kinds of status quo policies, from foreign wars to tariffs to us real estate. Journalistically, it's important to be accurate and avoid misinformation and false news as the AI era is near its nascency. Still, you have got to be increasingly cautious about where you get your information. I got a stark reminder of this recently, now former presidential candidate and HHS Secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr and I recently did a stair climber workout together at a gym. You probably know that RFK Jr leads the MaHA movement make America healthy again, which I support, and much like me, he's an avid fitness enthusiast, and that's the kind of stuff that we talk about. Well, there are now some photos of RFK, JR And I out there exercising together, something that's okay with me. I'm even proud of that. I shared one of those on my social media myself. He and I don't talk politics or vaccines or even diet or just exercise enthusiasts. That's what we talk about. That's our common ground. Well, a Facebook post of RFK JR and I exercising together, and here's where the terribly irresponsible misinformation comes in. Meta AI has a one touch link from there to what they call Weinhold and RFK Jr collaborations. Here's how it reads. I'll read it all word for word, and so much of it is false. Keith Weinhold and Robert F Kennedy Jr have a close friendship that has garnered significant attention. Keith Weinhold, a businessman and podcaster, has been a vocal supporter of Kennedy's work and advocacy their friendship has been built around shared interests and values, including their passion for environmental issues and their skepticism of mainstream narratives. Weinhold has often featured Kennedy as a guest on his podcast, where they discuss issues ranging from vaccine safety to corporate accountability. Together, they have collaborated on various projects, including the promotion of Kennedy's book the real Anthony Fauci. Their friendship has been subject to scrutiny, with some critics accusing them of spreading misinformation. That's the end of the meta AI page. What in the world? How do they come up with this stuff? The only shared interest we've collaborated on is fitness at the gym. And you as listener know that he's never been a guest on this show. Now, if his expertise were real estate investing or economics, well, then I might invite him on. How does meta AI come up with this stuff about vaccines and Fauci I mean, that is so far away from my area of focus. I haven't weighed in on any of that stuff. My gosh, this meta AI page, it is published work for all to see, and it is about 90% false. So my point is, there's a lot of information out there about everything from real estate investing to endangered sharks to cooking tomato soup. Be careful. Pay attention to information that has cited reliable sources. And AI in its current fledgling stage, it really muddies the picture. One thing that might help is that open AI's chatgpt Five, which recently debuted, it is better. It's an improvement. For example, if it does not know the answer to a question that you have, it will tell you that it does not know the answer, instead of making up something fake just to give some sort of answer like previous versions. Did we need more of that coming up here on the show. In future weeks, we have vital monolog material from me, as always prominent guests, new guests and repeat guests. Last week, I answered your listener questions here on air, you can always write in with your questions or comments at get rich education.com/contact this week, it's interviewees like you, as I talk to the first of two listener guests.   Keith Weinhold  8:17   He has been an avid GRE listener for a few years, and says that he shifted from bigger pockets and other content over almost exclusively to get rich education for real estate and market content. He uses the principles taught through GRE to focus on his niche, which is residential assisted living, R, A, l, investments at the single family home level, he owns two single family units that also have ADUs and a handful of Ral units, which has helped him reach his goal of replacing his military income with property cash flow. He is a husband, father of three boys and active duty Navy officer currently stationed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, a buy and hold investor. He began investing in real estate in 2017and now owns a portfolio that includes rental properties in San Diego, five Ral homes in Phoenix and GP stakes in two Ral syndications. He is also the founder of open range capital in the Ral room, there are two platforms dedicated to scaling the Ral model. Again, that's residential assisted living, scaling those across the US. And when he's not serving or investing, you can find him on the lacrosse field, playing, basketball, training, Jiu Jitsu or chasing down any kind of competition. Hey, welcome to GRE. Luke frazell,    Luke Frizzell  9:37   Keith, thank you for the introduction. Appreciate that very kind. And once I started investing in 2017 I got started with the bigger pockets train, and pretty avidly listened to their podcast and taking some action on my own, I actually found your podcast and your website, and it was so much more efficient in the information that I needed to hear. I. Know, and the the time that I could spend actually paying attention to real estate news and the important things that I need to be paying attention to as an investor, that I exclusively and paying attention through your email list and through your podcast, it's always great information. So I appreciate being on and thanks for having me. Keith,   Keith Weinhold  10:18   thanks. I try to keep things nutrient dense around here, Frizzell is spelled F, R, I, z, E, L, L, and look, I know your investing philosophy is strongly influenced by one of GRE most seminal and central mantras, and something that the world first learned right here on this show back in 2015 real estate pays five ways. Tell us about that.   Luke Frizzell  10:42   That is one of the best just mantras for whenever I'm talking to people about getting into real estate, yes. And I literally say, what the five ways that real estate pays, because that's how I heard about it was through you. And I was like, That is such a perfect illustration of why this beats, let's say, the stock market, or why this beats a lot of other investment vehicles, because you're not just getting the cash flow, which is a huge reason why people get involved in it, and that's actually the first thing that I'm scrubbing for whenever I'm looking for an investment. But of course, you're hoping for the appreciation, which I really just count as the cherry on top. And if I'm looking at a market from the macro lens, I'm making sure that the the city is growing, the jobs are coming in, there's a decent population, and at a macro level, that's the first thing you need to do before you dig into a city to make sure it's good to go. When appreciation happens, it's probably because those things are all in the right spot. And you're you're picking the right neighborhood, but just, you know, leverage, and being able to buy with 20% of the full amount down, that's a huge piece. And just the hedge against inflation that you get through a loan all the ways, I'm probably missing one, but that's one of the first things that I say when somebody's on the fence on whether they get into real estate investing is, Hey, these are the five ways I learned it from Keith's website, and I'll point them to you guys. That's how I found residential assisted living was really Yes, I had been an investor in San Diego and had great success there with, you know, the buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat, the burn method, and putting those five ways into practice. But what I really wanted, as I was looking towards getting out of the military in a few years was more the cash flow piece. So that's what drew me to Phoenix. I actually heard a podcast where somebody was talking about this strategy where you buy a home and you lease it out to a senior care operator and they are paying two to three times the lease amount that you would pay or get from a single family rental, and yet you're also getting all the benefits of real estate. So it seemed pretty hands off, which checked the box for me on that since I was working an active duty job, and then it was also very high, high cash flow. So that's what got me into residential assisted living, and has kept me into it, and I've brought a couple partners into what we're doing, and really bringing my partners in is brought us so much further than I would have ever gone myself. The core tenets of five ways real estate pays has definitely influenced my thoughts as an investor and everything that I've done   Keith Weinhold  13:16   yeah, I can't believe more people don't talk about the compelling why for real estate investing? And I think real estate pays five ways. Is the most efficient and comprehensive way of doing that for sure, when it comes to Property selection and adding to your portfolio, like you touched on, I know that you like to say that you don't chase doors, you chase quality, and you have sort of this peace of mind with intentional investing over scale. Can you tell us about that?   Luke Frizzell  13:43   That's a great question. It was really a forcing function that formed my investor mindset was it has to be quality, because I don't have the time as somebody who's doing a full time job that's very time intensive, and sometimes I'm leaving for months on end before I come back and in my spouse works in something completely separately, so she doesn't have time to manage properties and things like that. It was forced upon me to be very efficient with what I invested in, and my wife was not. She, just like me, didn't grow up learning about real estate investing, so they had to really hit bang for buck whenever we made that first investment in order to buy her or get her buy in on it. And when that first rental check came in, I was able to take her out to a sushi dinner and say it was paid for by our our tenants. And that was kind of the first buy in piece Got it, got us in there. But, yeah, I really Chase quality. And we were very fortunate, and got a little bit lucky with the timing of our properties in California with covid and the interest rates we bought to early on in 2017 and then in 2020 before interest rates started going up, before prices got crazy out there. And those have done really well for. For us. But as interest rates continued to rise and as prices on homes continued to rise, I had to keep the efficient piece in the back of my mind. That's when I heard about the senior care investing number one. I was like, hey, yeah, the demographics, it makes sense. There's so many, that demographic of seniors, the boomer generation, reaching, you know, 80 years old, and coming to that time of life where they need care that is not going down. The medical system as flawed as it can be in our country. You know, people are living longer, and we need to house them, and people don't want to stay in a big box facility anymore that feels like a hotel and not personal, and you have a one caregiver to 30 resident ratio. People want more personalized care, like you would get at a private school. At a public school, you get what you get, and you don't throw a fit, which kind of the analogy I make for a facility versus residential assisted living. So what we invest in is the residential level, where you actually buy just a regular house and it may have four or five bedrooms in it, and let's say three bathrooms, and if it's a single story home that has, let's say 3000 square feet, that is a prime home to actually build out into a senior care home. And every state needs these. Every state has different laws and rules and regulations as to what some are going to require, different size door frames, different width requirements in the halls, ramp requirements, of course, for wheelchair access and such. At the end of the day, every state needs more housing for seniors, and it's really going to be an education piece on getting people up to speed. We have five homes in Phoenix doing this, this model. There's a lot of network already available there. Like people love to retire in warm weather. Phoenix is just a hotbed for these residential assisted living homes. So that's where we got started. But when you move into, you know, let's say rural Nebraska, it's not going to be as as prevalent. So you really got to do a lot more networking and education to zoom back to your question about quality over quantity. If you think about scaling to $10,000 per month in passive income, quote, unquote, passive, the way I look at it, if I can have one residential assisted living home that nets $10,000 per month when I talk about the one residential assisted living home that could make net $10,000 per month that would be running the operations yourself, where you have let's say the average resident across America is going to pay 4000 to $6,000 per month to stay in a home like what I'm talking about if One home, let's go with the low end of $4,000 per month has a capacity of 10 residents in the house, then you can have 10 residents at $4,000 per month. So that's $40,000 gross. And then if you the average, if you're running an efficient home, just having straight up staffing costs, that maybe cost you $15,000 per month, and then you have your mortgage and your debt, that takes you another $10,000 per month, and let's say another five for excess costs and food and things, that's $30,000 of expenses. So 40,000 minus 30,000 is $10,000 per month. That's an efficiently run home. But that is not the height of what someone could do with this strategy. We have partners that do $40,000 net per month in this strategy, and that's generally in the dementia care, memory care space. What we did when we started was something called the lease to operator model, and that's a little bit more hands off, actually, I would say a lot more hands off than the actual operations of the home, like what I just said, because if you're doing the staffing and you have the business liability, that's all pretty involved, and there's a lot of education and a lot of networking that you need to do to get to that point. When I got started in this, I did the least operator model, because I was time constrained and I didn't want to actually get involved with the hands on care number one, because I was in Virginia Beach, and the homes that we were buying were in Phoenix, so there was no possible way for me to do that when we bought our first home at 10 capacity, so there's 10 residents that can fit in the home. I found an operator and vetted them and moved them into the house, and they're paying me a lease for five years, so it's somewhat of a commercial lease, but it's a residential home, and I actually got residential insurance on the house. The business owner that is leasing from me has the business liability insurance, and now they're paying me two and a half times what would have been the regular lease amount that I could have gotten for that home. So in that area, they're paying me $8,000 per month on a five year lease, and that goes up 3% per year. However, if I was renting that out like a normal house, I'm. Be getting 2020 $500 per month, every month, on a long term lease.   Keith Weinhold  20:05   That's this way the manager operates it, rather than you, right? So I   Luke Frizzell  20:09   actually empower the manager, or this operator, is what we call them. That's why it's leased to operator. I empower this manager to actually run it themselves. I don't tell them you can't paint the inside of the house. I don't tell them you can't redo the floors when you want. If they want to do that, that's on them, but they owe me that lease amount every month, and I empower them to run the home however they want. What I'm making sure happens is I'm paying for the insurance on the house, and I'm making sure the roof is stable and the walls are not going to collapse. Everything else, from utilities to whatever is on them, and they are a full fledged business owner in there, and hopefully they stay once the five years is up.   Keith Weinhold  20:48   That's a really interesting way to do it, by the way. Just dropping back to your earlier comment, I like how you say your wife doesn't have time to do the property management. I think we both know that we are protecting her standard of living and quality of life when she is not the property manager. Yes, I think it's common knowledge in America that the senior population is growing faster than the overall population. In fact, about four past GRE episodes featured the late great gene Guarino here on the show, a big educator in the residential assisted living space. We've got this aging population, the silver tsunami, the demographics about it are surely undeniable. I think a holdup for some people is that you're merging real estate investing with an active business. However, you've just described something where you're sort of withdrawing from that active business part, getting a leaseholder to pay you two and a half times the market rent, if you just had it as a buy and hold property and having them operated, is that right?   Speaker 2  20:48    Yeah, and I that's obviously a rough I say two to three times. I like to call it Airbnb numbers in a good market, without the stolen paper towels.   Keith Weinhold  20:48   You know what I mean? Like that, the stolen paper towels, the vacancy, the managing a listing, the clean. So   Speaker 2  20:48   you're doing all the you're getting the reaping the rewards of, let's say, an Airbnb without any headache. Because once you've set that operator in there, and you've empowered them to do it, and you have a rock solid lease, you're wiping your hands clean, I have to reach out to my operators to get an update from them to make sure that everything's going well, because they're not reaching out to me they're running their home. And hopefully, if I've empowered them the right way, and I am allowing them to be successful, and they reach out to me and say, Hey, Luke, I want to actually expand operations. So if you buy another house in this area, let me know, so that I can expand my operations there as well.    Luke Frizzell  21:23   Yeah. Well, do you have any last things to tell us about the residential assisted living for example, I know you have four strategies. For one, to get invested in it.   Luke Frizzell  22:44   That's a good question. And and just to hit on your last point, you're I actually like that. You can mix the real estate with the business, if you have time for that. And many people can do that, especially if you come from a healthcare background, or you're a nurse, that you're just looking to do something out on your own and not just spending your hours working at the hospital. And maybe you're a caregiver that's not paid well enough, and you're overworked, but you know that you could go and do something like that, or you're a doctor, a lot of people can go out and do this themselves, but if you're like me, and you're just a working professional that doesn't have time to get into that, but you do have people skills, and can figure out, like, Hey, I've interviewed about five different operators for this, and I can tell that this one meets all the marks, and they're going to get in there, and I can trust them, and they have a good, extensive experience in this space, and they're going to pay me a reasonable lease. That makes sense for why I'm putting the risk into this. Yeah, I'm going to pick them and get them in there. That's a really good option for people. So that's one of the strategies, is lease to operator. Another strategy is the one we already talked about, which is own and operate. So you're getting the power of real estate. You're leasing from yourself as so it's one entity, one business entity owns the property, one business entity owns the care business, and you're leasing from yourself, and there's some major tax benefits to doing it that way. That's obviously the most time intensive, and you're probably going that route if you want to make this your life's path. The other option is actually, if you don't have the money right now to buy a house, but you have the drive and you have the experience to get into the actual operations, you could just lease from somebody like me and who owns the house and doesn't want to get involved in the operations just yet, and now you can just set up a lease with them. Phoenix is a really good hub. Houston is a really good hub, but cities across America are going to start finding out about this and needing to get this into their advertise, basically because the senior housing issue that we talked about. And then finally, you can passively invest in these through open range capital, we are investing in these, and we're actually developing some memory care homes in Northern Virginia right now. So if you go to open range capital, you'll be able to find opportunities to invest in these as a passive investor. Or there's folks in the rail room who are building. Memory Care Homes in Houston area, and they're offering over 20% returns to people who just want to, hey, you have money, but you don't have time, and you don't have the interest to actually do some of this yourself. But you understand the power of residential assisted living, and the way that this medical problem and the senior care housing issue is growing in our country. Well, you can put your money there instead of doing it yourself.   Keith Weinhold  25:25   These are four distinct strategies for investing in residential assisted living, from the very much hands on to the passive hands off. Oh, this has really been helpful. Why don't you go ahead and let our audience know how they can learn more about the Raoul room and your website.   Luke Frizzell  25:42   Thanks for that. So we saw that there was a huge knowledge gap between real estate investors and business owners. And just anybody who's an entrepreneur thinking about how to get into this. You see the Cody Sanchez's of the world talking about business ownership and all those things you hear about the problem with our senior housing. And if you put those two things together, there's a huge gap in the marketplace. We wanted to educate people on this, because when we got started, there was a lot of unknowns, and it's really hard to sift through all the confusion about, you know how to get licensed. How do I know how many people I can fit into my home and actually care for? How do I find operators? How can I learn from other people who are actually doing this across the country and figure out which market to get into? So we wanted to combine all of that and have a network of people who know how to find these homes, know how to get you started in doing these and of course, we've been learning along the way as well, and that that was part of our goal as well when we started the Ral room. But we have a community of over 115 people. At this point, you can go to the ralroom.com r a l room.com and find out more. It's a great opportunity to learn about what it is. We have freebies in there about how to get started, from one to 10 step guide, and we even have a free podcast called The Ral room podcast. So tune into that. If you haven't done it yet.   Keith Weinhold  27:04   This has been informative, terrific stuff from Luke Frizzell. The audience will benefit from your point of view. Thanks for your time and intention today.    Luke Frizzell  27:14   Yeah, absolutely, Keith. Appreciate you.   Keith Weinhold  27:17   This was our first of two GRE listener guest profiles. We've got the second one when we come back. I'm Keith Weinhold. You're listening to get rich education.    Keith Weinhold  27:26   The same place where I get my own mortgage loans is where you can get yours. Ridge lending group and MLS, 42056, they provided our listeners with more loans than anyone because they specialize in income properties. They help you build a long term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage. Start your pre qual and even chat with President Chaley Ridge personally. While it's on your mind, start at Ridge lendinggroup.com. 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Text family to 66866,    Richard Duncan  29:08   this is Richard Duncan, publisher on macro. Watch, listen to get rich education with Keith Weinhold, and don't quit your Daydream. You   Keith Weinhold  29:26   this week's GRE listener guest profile is with an Air Force vet turned real estate investor, and today he even runs the ideal investor show. He's from Germany and lives in San Diego today, using strategies like turnkey real estate, 1031, exchanges and more. He now owns multiple properties in different countries and states. These include the states of Ohio, Idaho, Illinois and Florida, and the nations of Belize, Panama, Spain and more. He's been a GRE listener since episode. 100 which was in 2016 and this helped him connect with income property providers and get started and really growing his wealth through compound leverage, not just compound interest. He ultimately ended up with eight properties in what he calls well performing locations. Hey, it's great to have you here. Welcome to GRE Dr Axel meyerhoffer, hey, Keith, thank you for having me. Meyerhoffer is spelled m, e, i, e r, H, O, E, F, E R. I know that coming on to GRE is something that you've wanted to do for a while, but let's pull back first, what is your doctorate in? And then how do you use that degree or distinction today?   Dr Axel Meierhoefer  30:40   Well, my doctorate is in organizational change and leadership, and the dissertation that I wrote as the study at the end of the degree program was about business coaching and whether it's better for a company to have internal coaches versus external coaches. And when you're diving really deep, my like, I don't know if you're aware, but PhD stands, at least in my book for pilot high and deep, high and deep, right? And so, you know, I really dug into this, and what I learned about coaching is still helping me, even though idea wealth grow is a little bit more mentoring program than a coaching program, but still, the practice of engaging people and getting out of them what they really want to accomplish is valid every day   Keith Weinhold  31:28   when we wonder about what's piled high and deep, I'm sure that thing is knowledge couldn't possibly be anything else. Dr meyerhoffer, tell us what you learned from listening here that piqued your interest?   Dr Axel Meierhoefer  31:43   Well, the one thing is, I had found the book turnkey revolution, by Chris closure, who, for those who don't know he, is the one of the family members of the founders of Memphis invest that is now known as Rei Nation. I'm sure you're very familiar with it, Keith and I've heard of them. Yeah, I read the book, and it was very helpful, but it wasn't very clear, other than his family's company, how do you apply this as a regular investor, which I was at the time. And then I listened to your episodes over and over, talking about how you can use turnkey investing to invest out of state, being far away. And I remember, if I'm not mistaken, that you were in Alaska and investing somewhere in lower 48 and so that kind of got me triggered to look into that.    Keith Weinhold  32:30   You figure, if you're in San Diego, you can invest in Alabama, if a person from Honolulu or anchorage can do that same thing. All right, so you've built up, it sounds like, is it eight turnkey properties? It's   Dr Axel Meierhoefer  32:45   eight turnkey properties. And then I have a few other things, like, I also listen to episodes that you had about agricultural investing. So, yeah, like in Panama, the first investment was in a coffee farm. And then a little later, I also discovered some you would call them, like little cabin, kind of like vacation cabin investments and stuff. So yeah, I've actually learned a lot and benefited, and I always appreciated that, you know, you're not just saying, Hey, here's something you can do, but you oftentimes have a connection or relationship with an organization. And so several times my investments were at least informed, let's say, by GRE,   Keith Weinhold  33:26   yes. And oftentimes I'm investing right next to you, the investor myself, with some of the same GRE marketplace providers. You have eight properties. Are they all cash flowing? Are they all producing positive cash flow?   Dr Axel Meierhoefer  33:41   Yeah. I mean, that's actually one of the things that I wanted from the get go, and that's also part of our idea rights grow a mentoring program to look at properties now. Right now, with the higher interest rates, it's admittedly a little harder to find locations and properties that have a good balance between the quality of the property, the area that the property is in and then also being cash flowing. We have fundamentally for renovated properties. We're still looking for 1% rule. It's harder to find, but you know, as a starting point to say, Should I even consider as long as it's close to that most of the time, the numbers work out, even at seven or eight percentages, you still make at least a little bit of money   Keith Weinhold  34:20   overall. Yes, the real estate deals just aren't as good as they were, say, five years ago, because both rents and prices are up, but rents haven't risen as much as prices have. I still don't know where you're going to find a better risk adjusted return in any investment, though, than with income property bought with a loan.   Dr Axel Meierhoefer  34:42   Yeah, I'm with you on that. And I mean, I remember vividly, not in only in books and other research, that people have this apples to oranges comparison thing going on all the time, right? I always say, Okay, well, tell me if you can buy stocks where somebody gives you 80% of the money, and I already need to put 20 right? What tell me if you can buy stocks and somebody says, Oh, the stock is gonna depreciate in the next 27 and a half years. So, you know, you write some of it off your tax return, and those kind of things. Tell me where somebody gives you money but allows you to keep 100% of the increase in value all these things. I mean, you have beautiful graphics and stuff that you made over time, but when you really try to do apples to apples comparison, there's nothing there. And one thing maybe for the audience, that I think is an important thing to know is, and I know Keith, you have said this so many times, real estate, especially residential real estate and investing, is really the long term game. And that also means to realize, okay, even in times like right now, you might only start with, like, 50 or $100 positive cash flow. But when you look at the longer term, I always say, and I say this to our clients, the first five and maybe right now, it's more like seven years. It's kind of like the hard time of this investment where you just barely break even, where you might be a little disgruntled when you get a maintenance bill and you haven't really built a big reserve yet, because you're still with your first few properties, but when you look at the trajectory, and I can see it now, you know, I've six years in all properties are cash flow positive, the rate that we're getting, even if we only increase rents by 2030, $35 a month, year over year. Like you said, right? You want to train your tenants. When I look at the overall picture, it's basically getting better every year. If you have that in mind, to say, I make an investment. I call, by the way, the point what we want to get to. I call that the time freedom point where your portfolio generates enough cash flow so yet you have a choice to say, Do I go work or do I live off the income? And that is why you still have mortgages, right? So if the listeners ever think, Okay, well, what happens when one after the next, the mortgages get paid off, it's like paradise at that point, right? If you really think of it from a purely cash flow perspective,   Keith Weinhold  36:56   starting is the hardest, because it's clunky to buy your first property, and then it also takes a few years until you really feel the effect of all these wealth multipliers at the same time. You're sort of touching on the third in the inflation Triple Crown, cash flow enhancement, if you only increase the rent three or 4% per year. Yeah. So what it feels like you're only keeping up with inflation, but the fact that your principal and interest payment stays fixed means a three to 4% rent increase might be a 10% cash flow increase. As that compounds year after year, you really begin to feel those effects. But yes, it does take the addition of time, but not decades.   Dr Axel Meierhoefer  37:38   I'm with you. It's just for me, important that anybody who is considering should I get into this right, especially in an environment where people constantly pointing to the fact that the stock market keeps going up, gold is going up, silver is going up, Bitcoin is going up, right? And to me, these are the apples, and they are nice apples, don't get me wrong, right? They're beautiful apples, but we're dealing in oranges, right? And we have these five different things that you keep counting on, and have all kinds of beautiful descriptions about that we get as real estate investors. And it's a choice, right? People can make a choice, and I'm all for diversification, but if you make the choice, then you really have the beginning of building a legacy. And for many people, I find more and more that becomes important to say it's not just for me, like if you were to ask me, it's not just for me, it's also knowing that my daughter will have a much better portfolio than I ever had when I was young. Yeah, our now, like almost two year old grandson, he is going to be safe pretty much forever   Keith Weinhold  38:37   getting started and even after starting for some people, there are certain mindsets that they need to overcome. One of them is getting out of state property. So do you have any thoughts or approaches with adding out of state properties, which is still a foreign proposition to some people?   Dr Axel Meierhoefer  38:56   Well, one thing that I do and emphasize very strongly in our mentoring program is besides the investing and helping people to get the connections to like the turnkey providers and the lenders and the property managers, inspectors and stuff, the other part, and I'm sometimes almost feel, is more important than the investing itself. Obviously, it's kind of a requirement, but the other part is to really as the mentor, help people to develop the mindset of the king or queen of their own empire, or basically the owner of the investing business. And when you think about it that way, I often times portray it in the way look at all the components, all the services that you need for the out of state investor, right? You need the turnkey provider, property management, bank or lender. You need inspectors and stuff. I try to convey to people, we are building an LLC, and that LLC is hiring these people as if they were employees. And if you look at it that way, and you start adopting that mindset. And. You look at their performance like any employer would look at the performance of their employees. If the performance is great, they get praise and the raise. If the performance sucks, you let him go and get another one when you're not going to hang out with the same property management out of state, constantly complaining, not doing their job, not treating the tenants well, not treating your property well. Why would you keep somebody like that? So it's this aspect of building a mindset of, yes, you might have a job, a regular w2 job, but for the purposes of building your real estate portfolio, you are the business owner, and you're hiring all these services. And when that clicks and you start treating the people that you're working with in that way, with respect, but with every expectation that you pay them for their services so they're supposed to perform. That changes, in my opinion and my experience. That changes everything   Keith Weinhold  40:54   comes down to the fact that the team is more important than the property, and a lot of people perhaps overemphasize the geographic location of that property. Location surely matters, but it's just not nearly the most important thing I know. One approach that you take is you have this mantra that underdog properties often outperform hot properties. However, can you speak to that some more   Speaker 3  41:21   Well, I think it has to do with it, with this kind of analogy of Steady as she goes right underdog property, I'm more inclined to look in a nice neighborhood and establish nice neighborhood. I always say, Let's try, with the help of a turnkey provider, to find the ugly duckling in a nice neighborhood and get that renovated and that neighborhood, I'm not a big fan of this term blue color versus white color or anything like that, but if you bring the ugly duckling back to be the white swan of that neighborhood, you have, I believe, a very good probability that that will be a very long time longevity, well respected, well rented, well performing property, rather than, you know, running after the shiny object the most you know, like, I don't want to really open wounds, but I know that a lot of people ran to Austin, Texas, because everybody said, that's the market you gotta be in, Right prices, outrageous rents, looked good for a little while, then the property taxes got adjusted, the market collapsed, and now everybody is whining. I rather have my nice property in Dayton or in Cincinnati, and it's doing steady, as she goes, every month, every year, right? So that's what I meant by that   Keith Weinhold  42:30   a friend and prolific apartment investor, Ken McElroy, who's been a frequent guest on this show, Ken says, look for distressed properties, not distressed markets. There's a lot in that.   Dr Axel Meierhoefer  42:53   Yeah, I'm very much with Ken on that. And it's not just for apartment complexes. I think it fits just as well for single family or duplex triplex fourplex properties? Yeah, we   Keith Weinhold  43:03   want to avoid those distressed markets. It takes a long time for them to turn around, and every property in that market floats up or down with it. Well. Dr meyerhoffer, as we think about the future, you've been around this space for a while now, like you mentioned, you're even helping mentor some others. Where do you think the residential real estate market is headed the next few years? From your perspective,   Dr Axel Meierhoefer  43:27   I really have the feeling it's kind of a little bit like a coil spring that is basically being wound tighter and tighter and tighter. Because people may not agree with me. I think everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but I'm a little bit refusing to believe that the dream and the interest of owning your own property for yourself and your family supposedly has gone away. What I believe is that the circumstances both from a Can I qualify for a loan? Can I afford the price? Can my wages actually work for what I want to accomplish that balance is out of whack a lot right now, but I can totally see when we're looking in the future, that we will see interest rates coming down, properties still being in high demand. And for us as investors, I don't know if you had it on your show before, but I oftentimes being asked, you know, is it still the right time to invest. And my answer is always, like most people in residential real estate, the best time was 20 years ago. The second best time is today. Yeah. And if you adopt this idea of, like, this cold spring getting ready, I mean, just ask yourself people, the last time they really did anything meaningful was basically in 2022 let's just assume it takes another year until interest rates come down, and another six to nine months for the market to really start adjusting. So that takes us to the middle of 2027 that would mean for five years, hundreds of 1000s, if not billions, of people wanted to do something, wanted to move, wanted to get a house, wanted to get a bigger place. They've. Finally can that's kind of the window that I'm looking at with. Not to say there will never be another opportunity. But why would you wait until the market goes crazy when you have it really nice, really calm right now, almost no competition for an owner occupants. It's really an investor market right now. We can pick and we can be diligent, and we can negotiate with the builders and all this nice stuff, no time pressure. They even tell you, I know Keith. They tell you, too, when you have a client, make first sure that the client is qualified before we even talking about price. I remember times when I bought where I was told you have 72 hours to decide if you want it or not and get it under contract because of 100 people out the door who want it, it's the calm before the storm. If you ask me, I can tell exactly when that storm is really gonna hit, but nobody can convince me that if five years the market is basically frozen, that when you release it and open the door, that it's not going to be pretty crazy. Yeah, no, in my opinion,   Keith Weinhold  46:01   that's a good analogy. We're in this period where we have a compressed spring lower interest rates could open up that spring to bounce up, because we have, really, it's all this pent up demand, a pent up demand spring, and we know as mortgage rates fall, millions more people qualify increasing demand for a fixed supply of housing. Well, this has been helpful for the audience. In closing, Dr meyerhoffer, do you have any last thoughts, anything else that you want to share with the GRE audience at all?   Dr Axel Meierhoefer  46:35   Well, the one thing I would say is, you know, you want to work with somebody real estate investing, when you have somebody who has built the experience, like you have Keith with you, the programs and all the partners you're working with, similar to me, over the last 10 years, I think it's a great opportunity to do it now, where you can and have the time to learn and work together and take advantage of this relatively Calm market, because it's probably not going to stay that way. And on the other hand, I also feel that too many people are going like you said, in a slightly different context, after the current shiny object. And I would hate for people that made good money in the last year or two in the stock market to lose it all, because what goes up comes down, especially in these kind of assets, why not take some profits and put it where you really have the long term perspective, like you and I have always suggested for people,   Keith Weinhold  47:29   and is there a good resource where someone can connect with you? Because we've learned that you've taken such an interest in this and you've begun mentoring people. Is it ideal wealth grower?   Dr Axel Meierhoefer  47:38   Yeah. Idealwealthgrower.com we have a button for a complimentary conversation to just book a call. I would assume you agree. You know, when you work with people for longer term and for the personal things like money and investing, you kind of have to have a good relationship. You have to kind of in agreement where you want to go and whether you like each other and have a good energy with each other. So I always feel, let's talk, let's get to know each other. And if we decide we want to work together, then we do that. And if somebody says, You know what I really want to do, apartments. I know people. You know people, we can direct them to. Some people want to do storage units or whatever. So these conversations are really to say, let's get to know each other and see if the goals you have match with what I can help you with. And if that's a yes, then we are off to the races.   Keith Weinhold  48:24   Sort of reassuring in this algorithmic world that we live in, in this highly digital world that people you know really still matter, it's still about your connections with people. Dr Meyer Hopper, it's been great getting your perspective. Thanks so much for coming onto the show.    Dr Axel Meierhoefer  48:42   Thank you, Keith, for having me.   Keith Weinhold  48:49   Yeah, with the first GRE listener guest, Luke, it's just exemplary of how when you own the property now you make the rules, and in this case, you can increase your income multiples by converting your rental property into residential assisted living with the second listener guest, Dr meyerhoffer, I like his analogy of the coiled spring ready to open up as pent up housing demand should get released With lower interest rates. Both guests have a Military Connection, which is merely a coincidence. But today's listener guests were chosen because, unlike others that we've had here, they've each started their own real estate mentoring platforms influenced by listening to this show.    Keith Weinhold  49:35   Now in the preview to today's episode, I let you know that I have an opportunity to tell you about it's been pretty well documented that both Florida and Texas have temporarily overbuilt pockets, and this is where home builders, sometimes desperate, are willing to give you a deep deal. I've discussed Florida and their specific opportunities. What? About Texas? Listen to these deep deals, because Texas, it is one of the most in demand states for real estate investing, but cash flow is often hard to find due to property taxes and rising prices. That's why I'm excited to announce that here at GRE us with our coaches, we found a tiny stash of new construction, yet tenant occupied properties in San Antonio, the Houston suburbs and Dallas suburbs, and they are available exclusively to GRE listeners, four bed homes under 340k here's what's remarkable. There's up to $41,000 to you in incentives. That is 12% back at closing, interest only loan options as low as four and three quarter percent. Yes, they're already leased to long term tenants. This is a 19% cash on cash return potential put these properties into service and get bonus depreciation, like I discussed last week, up to $94,000 these incentives are just massive, and you can qualify with DSCR loans, no tax returns required, no w2 required. I mean, this whole thing is a bigger deal than a Bucky brisket sandwich, something else you'll find in Texas. These are all built either this year or last year. For example, like this beautiful three bed, two bath, single family rental in Conroe, Texas that I'm looking at right now. The sale price is just $279,900 and then you get all those incentives. The rent is almost $2,000 it's 1950 and it's over 1500 square feet on this really good looking property with garage. That's just an example of one of the income properties I'm talking about here. They are off market and they won't be available long. Don't miss out on this best performing Texas inventory we've seen many are already cash flowing, $500 plus a month. Chat with a GRE investment coach, and they'll show you the best picks before this inventory evaporates. Book time with them. It's free. You can do that at GRE investment coach.com. Until next week. I'm your host, Keith Weinhold, don't quit your Daydream.   Speaker 4  52:47   Nothing on this show should be considered specific, personal or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of get rich Education LLC exclusively.   Keith Weinhold  53:10   You know, whenever you want the best written real estate and finance info, oh, geez, today's experience limits your free articles access, and it's got paywalls and pop ups and push notifications and cookies disclaimers, it's not so great. So then it's vital to place nice, clean, free content into your hands that adds no hype value to your life. That's why this is the golden age of quality newsletters, and I write every word of ours myself. It's got a dash of humor, and it's to the point, because even the word abbreviation is too long, my letter usually takes less than three minutes to read, and when you start the letter, you also get my one hour fast real estate video. Course, it's all completely free. It's called the Don't quit your Daydream. Letter, it wires your mind for wealth, and it couldn't be easier for you to get it right now. Just text gre 266, 866, while it's on your mind, take a moment to do it right now. Text gre 266, 866,   Keith Weinhold  54:26   The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth. Building, get richeducation.com 

From the vibrant streets of Belize to the soundstages of Hollywood, Arlen Escarpeta has built a career defined by resilience, versatility, and heart. His path took him from performing arts schools to his first role on Boston Public and eventually to booking the “game-changer” American Dreams, where he learned to balance art with business and the importance of teamwork and human connection. In this episode, Arlen shares honest insights on sustaining a career, diversifying into voiceover and looping work, and his “tent pole” approach to building layered, specific characters—offering a rare, inspiring look at the resilience and craft behind a continuously working actor. These are the unforgettable stories that landed Arlen Escarpeta right here. Credits: FOUND The Oath David Makes Man The Magicians S.W.A.T. Final Destination 5 We Are Marshall I Am the Night Grimm Extant The Client List House American Dreams Guest Links: IMDB: Arlen Escarpeta, Actor, Producer THAT ONE AUDITION'S LINKS: For exclusive content surrounding this and all podcast episodes, sign up for our amazing newsletter at AlyshiaOchse.com. And don't forget to snap and post a photo while listening to the show and tag me: @alyshiaochse & @thatoneaudition SLAYTEMBER: Starting September 18th MAGIC MIND: 60% off ONEAUDITION60 THE BRIDGE FOR ACTORS: Become a WORKING ACTOR THE PRACTICE TRACK: Membership to Practice Weekly PATREON: @thatoneaudition CONSULTING: Get 1-on-1 advice for your acting career from Alyshia Ochse COACHING: Get personalized coaching from Alyshia on your next audition or role INSTAGRAM: @alyshiaochse INSTAGRAM: @thatoneaudition WEBSITE: AlyshiaOchse.com ITUNES: Subscribe to That One Audition on iTunes SPOTIFY: Subscribe to That One Audition on Spotify STITCHER: Subscribe to That One Audition on Stitcher EPISODE CREDITS: WRITER: Erin McCluskey WEBSITE & GRAPHICS: Chase Jennings ASSISTANT: Elle Powell SOCIAL OUTREACH: Alara Ceri

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Managing fishing vessels goes far beyond tracking where a boat is registered. In this episode, we dive into Oceana's Beyond the Flag report to explore how large-scale fishing vessels are often flagged in one country but owned in another, creating dangerous loopholes that allow illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing to thrive. This legal and beneficial ownership opacity undermines ocean governance, drains resources from coastal nations, and hides the true power behind global fishing operations. Managing fishing vessels transparently is essential for sustainable ocean futures. We discuss why more than 6,900 industrial vessels are shrouded in secrecy, how open registries like Panama and Belize fuel the problem, and what can be done to hold owners accountable. With solutions ranging from public vessel ownership databases to policy reform, this episode highlights how better transparency could transform fisheries management worldwide. Join the Undertow: https://www.speakupforblue.com/jointheundertow Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube    

Vladimir Putin has reportedly demanded a Ukrainian withdrawal from the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in exchange for a freezing of front lines elsewhere. The Russian president made the demand during Friday's meeting with President Trump in Alaska, according to sources involved in the talks. We speak to Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations.Also in the programme: Environmentalists have welcomed a deal signed by Mexico, Belize and Guatemala to protect the second large rainforest in the Americas; and are mangoes good for diabetes?(Photo credit: Getty Images)

Join me in an inspiring conversation with Court Whelan, a multifaceted photographer, podcaster, and conservationist. Court shares his journey from a pivotal internship in Belize to guiding eco-tours around the globe, all while capturing the beauty of nature through his lens. Discover how he blends his passion for photography and conservation, the challenges of the travel industry, and his strategies for growing his art business. Whether you're an aspiring photographer or a nature lover, this episode is packed with insights and inspiration! (00:00) - Introduction to Court Weyland (05:30) - The Journey into Photography (10:00) - The Evolution of Photography Skills (15:00) - The Role of Gear in Photography (20:00) - The Importance of Culling and Editing (25:00) - Building Relationships with Clients (30:00) - Transitioning to Print Sales (35:00) - Future Plans and Sustainability (40:00) - Marketing Strategies for Q4 (45:00) - The Power of Photo Books Court's Website https://shop.courtwhelan.com/ Court's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/the.wild.photographer/ Keep up with the latest https://linktr.ee/artmarketingpodcast Signup for a free account on ArtHelper and use my jazzy coupon code which is POD.  This will give you a free month of the Pro plan that has all the bells and whistles 

Ami JonesCEO & FounderTerraFauna JourneysAmi Jones is a seasoned travel professional, passionate conservationist, and respected leader in sustainable tourism with over 15 years of experience designing and guiding meaningful journeys across the globe. Her path began in 2008 in Placencia, Belize—an early spark that ignited a lifelong commitment to using travel as a force for good.Since then, Ami has held key roles in both for-profit and nonprofit sectors spanning student travel, wellness, educational tourism, and conservation. She has led innovative sustainability initiatives—including the development of pioneering low-impact travel models—and helped shape strategies that prioritize environmental stewardship and community empowerment. Her work has taken her from the Arctic tundra to the Brazilian Amazon, always rooted in deep partnerships with local people and places.In 2025, Ami founded TerraFauna Journeys to bring that mission to life. With a bold vision to inspire conservation, one journey at a time, she leads the company committed to reconnecting travelers with the natural world—while directly supporting the people and ecosystems that make each destination extraordinary.Her belief is simple but powerful: when done thoughtfully, travel can change lives and help protect our planet for future generations.summaryIn this episode of the Big World Made Small podcast, host Jason Elkins speaks with Ami Jones, CEO and founder of TerraFauna Journeys, a conservation-focused travel company. They discuss Ami's background, her family's influence on her passion for conservation, and the importance of meaningful travel experiences. The conversation delves into the impact of tourism on local communities and the environment, the misconceptions surrounding travel destinations, and the mission of TerraFauna to inspire conservation through travel. Ami emphasizes the need for ethical tourism practices and the importance of listening to both travelers and local communities to create impactful experiences. The episode concludes with a call to action for listeners to engage with TerraFauna and contribute to conservation efforts.takeawaysTerraFauna Journeys aims to inspire conservation through travel.Ami's childhood experiences with National Geographic sparked her curiosity about the planet.Conservation perspectives can vary greatly based on cultural backgrounds.Travel experiences shape our understanding of the world and its challenges.Mass tourism can serve as a gateway to more meaningful travel experiences.Cultural misconceptions often arise from a lack of firsthand experience.Ethical tourism requires listening to local communities and understanding their needs.Luxury travel is being redefined to mean access to unique experiences.Community engagement is crucial for successful conservation efforts.Travel can be a powerful tool for personal growth and global understanding. Learn more about Big World Made Small Adventure Travel Marketing and join our private community to get episode updates, special access to our guests, and exclusive adventure travel offers on our website.

#797 Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/797  Presented by: Togiak River Lodge, FishHound Expeditions, San Juan Rodworks, Intrepid Camp Gear Sponsors: https://wetflyswing.com/sponsors        If you've ever dreamed to fly fish Belize on your terms to chase bonefish and permit, this episode is for you. We're heading to Ambergris Caye where Mary Alice Hoppe and her husband Chris created Iguana House, a beachfront lodge built with DIY anglers in mind. In this episode, Mary Alice shares what it's really like to run a fishing lodge, how to plan your trip for tailing permit and migrating tarpon, and why a golf cart might just be your most valuable gear item. We also dive into what to expect on the island, from fishing conditions to local adventures like snorkeling Belize's incredible reef systems. Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/797      

In this episode of Waypoints, we head to the heart of Central America for a deep dive into one of the most diverse and exciting fly fishing destinations in the world: Costa Rica. Host Jim Klug is joined by Chuck Hill and Marvin Rodriguez, the founders of 4 Corners Costa Rica - an innovative outfitting operation that offers an incredibly-diverse line-up of options and itineraries for fishing this extraordinary country. From the tarpon-filled jungle rivers of the Caribbean coast to the Pacific's roosterfish and bluewater species, 4 Corners has built a seamless, multi-location program that combines serious fishing with immersive cultural experiences. For traveling anglers looking to chase a wide range of exotic species while experiencing the full breadth of Costa Rica's beauty and hospitality, this is the ultimate custom-built adventure.Over the course of the episode, Jim, Chuck, and Marvin explore what makes Costa Rica such a unique angling destination - from the logistics of switching coasts in a single itinerary to the details of their personalized approach to customized trip planning. Listeners will hear about the different fisheries, the species available year-round, the gear needed to target everything from giant tarpon to jungle snook and offshore marlin, and off course advice on how to plan the ultimate Costa Rican getaway. Whether you're a Costa Rica fishing veteran or new to Central American angling, this conversation offers a behind-the-scenes look at how 4 Corners is changing the way people experience fly fishing in Costa Rica - one unforgettable corner at a time.After the success of the 2024 Belize and 2023 Baja Bluegrass events, we're excited to bring the experience back to Belize for 2025. Join us November 4–9 at El Pescador Lodge on Ambergris Caye for a five-night, all-inclusive fishing, beach, and bluegrass getaway—exclusively for 30 couples.Waypoints is brought to you by PatagoniaTo bring their gear to life, Patagonia is motivated by relentless curiosity and a passion for the wild. They evaluate hundreds of materials, build dozens of prototypes and spend seasons punishing them in the world's most extreme conditions. The work is the guide, and Patagonia never tires of exploring, learning and improving. Built with innovative materials, intuitive features and a refined fit, their Swiftcurrent® Waders are a better wader experience. Repatterned for bulk reduction, reduced seam stress, increased maneuverability and improved repairability, they move better in and out of the water, carry gear more efficiently and keep tools handy. They're made from recycled materials without intentionally added PFAS—toxic “forever chemicals.- Follow us on Instagram- Follow us on Facebook- Check out our YouTube Page- View the official Yellow Dog website ...

What happens when you flip the traditional idea of homeownership on its head? In this episode, former Marine and seasoned real estate investor Edward "Buddy" Rushing shares how he transformed his Southern California home into a summer cash-flow machine—funding epic international family adventures. Buddy walks us through how renting out his home via Airbnb turned a personal liability into an asset, allowing his family to explore Costa Rica, Belize, and Guatemala. But that's just the beginning. From humble beginnings in East Tennessee to building a portfolio of single-family homes, syndications, and luxury builds, Buddy opens up about the mindset shifts and financial strategies that got him here. Dave and Buddy also dive into his passion project: empowering military members and first responders to build financial freedom through real estate. Learn how the “White Feather” community is helping service members live the dream they fought to protect. What You'll Learn in This Episode: How Buddy rents out his home to fund international travel Why he loves single-family homes over apartments How military members can leverage VA loans and real estate for financial freedom The power of healthy leverage and long-term thinking Why he launched White Feather Investments—and who it's for   - Get Interviewed on the Show! - ================================== Are you a real estate investor with some 'tales from the trenches' you'd like to share with our audience? Want to get great exposure and be seen as a bonafide real estate pro by your friends? Would you like to inspire other people to take action with real estate investing? Then we'd love to interview you! Find out more and pick the date here: http://daveinterviewsyou.com/

Sherry, known as Eseosa Rain, shares her remarkable journey from Air Force veteran and missionary to global pickleball ambassador. After discovering pickleball lifted her out of depression and connected her with a healing community, she began using the sport to empower youth and seniors in places like Kenya, Belize, and South Africa's townships. With just a few paddles and boundless determination, Sherry is breaking barriers, building unity across cultures, and proving that pickleball can change lives far beyond the court. Her story is one of resilience, service, and unstoppable passion. Listen now: https://www.lifelessonsfrompickleballpodcast.com@pickleballmissionary#LifeLessonsFromPickleball #PickleballRevolution #PickleballCommunity #Pickleball #LifeLessons #pickleballislife #pickleballlife #picklbeballsaveslives #pickleballpodcast #pickleballaddict #pickleballers #pickleballnation #pickleballlove #pickleballcommunity #pickleballfun #pickleballplayer #pickleballcourt #dinklife #pickleballjourney #PickleballLove #letsplaypickleball #pickleballpassion #pickleballfun #pickleballfamily #inspiration #community #Podcast #StrongAtMidlife  #MindsetMatters #Internationalpickleball #PickleballWithPurpose #GlobalPickleball #PickleballMissionary #PickleballForGood #PTSDRecovery #VeteransHealing #PickleballHeals #WomenOnAMission #PickleballAfrica #PickleballSouthAfrica #SocialImpact #SportsForChange #ChangingLivesThroughSportMusic gifted to us by Ian Pedersen: @ianpedersen Contact us: Lifelessonsfrompickleball@gmail.comSocial Media Links:https://www.lifelessonsfrompickleballpodcast.comhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557275391316https://www.instagram.com/lifelessonsfrompickleball/https://www.youtube.com/@LifeLessonsFromPickleballPodThanks for listening and you can also watch us on Youtube.

Morgan and Eddie catch up on all things hot dogs. Eddie gives an update on his friend challenge that Morgan gave him last time. And Eddie questions Morgan more on her upcoming “Belize” vacation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when you're pinned underwater, running out of oxygen, and suddenly realize... this is how people die?In this episode of The Erik Cabral Show, Erik sits down with Bo Parfet–adventure entrepreneur, mountain climber, and faith warrior who's restored sight to over 50,000 people worldwide. They dive deep into his childhood struggles with dyslexia and a speech impediment, the near-death canoe accident in Belize that gave him unshakeable faith, and how a vision on top of Mount Chimborazo led to a mission bigger than any summit.They talk about what it means to stop making a living and start making a life, why marketplace ministries are revolutionizing faith-driven business, and how prayer before meetings gets the ego out of the room immediately.This one's packed with wisdom for anyone ready to chase lions instead of settling for comfortable Christianity.Episode Chapters:0:00 Intro and childhood struggles with dyslexia 5:30 The Belize canoe accident that changed everything12:45 Foundation of unshakeable faith 18:20 Merging faith and work at DLP 25:10 Marketplace ministries revelation 32:40 Vision for sight restoration on Mount Chimborazo 40:15 Recognizing God's voice vs. your own thoughts 48:30 Obedience in entrepreneurship 55:20 Taking control of your information diet 1:02:15 Leading with love, humility, and kindness

Luxury meets authenticity at Sirenian Bay Resort and Villas, Belize's only true all-inclusive paradise nestled along the pristine shores of Placencia. Join us as we peel back the layers of this extraordinary destination that has mastered the delicate balance between world-class amenities and genuine Belize-an character.Step inside our breathtaking Pelican Villa with its two-story layout featuring a private second-floor plunge pool overlooking the Caribbean Sea. We'll guide you through every corner of this meticulously designed accommodation, from the handcrafted wooden furniture to the Alexa-controlled amenities that seamlessly blend technology with tropical luxury. With nothing between our oceanfront villa and the turquoise waters but sand and swaying palms, it's the embodiment of barefoot luxury.Beyond our spectacular accommodations, we dive into the incredible culinary experiences orchestrated by head chef Marco. From customized beach dinners under the stars to private chef services, the resort's gastronomic offerings transcend typical all-inclusive fare. We'll share our favorite dishes and the unique dining settings that made our meals unforgettable.Adventure seekers will appreciate our exploration of Inky's – the entertainment complex with its fascinating origin story and range of activities including an 18-hole mini-golf course, pickle ball courts, and a state-of-the-art fitness center. Meanwhile, wellness enthusiasts will be intrigued by our firsthand account of unique spa treatments like coffee scrubs and banana leaf wraps that incorporate local ingredients and techniques.Whether you're planning your own Belize an getaway or simply craving a virtual escape, our intimate look at Sirenian Bay reveals why this boutique resort stands apart from typical Caribbean destinations. As the resort continues to expand with new villas and amenities, there's never been a better time to discover this hidden gem that exemplifies luxury with heart.Ready to experience the magic of Belize? Follow us @TheROAMies on Instagram and Facebook to see stunning photos from our adventure, or visit www.TheROAMies.com to learn more about planning your own unforgettable journey to SIrenian Bay.Thanks for your ongoing support!http://paypal.me/TheROAMiesAlexa and RoryThe ROAMiesPlease subscribe, rate and share our podcast! Follow us at:http://www.TheROAMies.comThe ROAMies: Facebook and Instagram YouTube and X.

On this episode of Waypoints, we sit down with one of the most innovative and influential minds in modern fly fishing — the legendary Blane Chocklett. A pioneer in streamer design and the creative force behind the iconic Game Changer fly, Blane has spent decades pushing the boundaries of how we tie, present, and think about flies. From his roots fishing the rivers of Virginia to creating patterns that now travel the globe, his impact on the sport is undeniable. In this episode, we dive into the philosophies that drive his design work, the crossover between conventional and fly tackle, and how movement and action are everything when it comes to triggering aggressive eats from predatory species.We also dig into the stories behind the flies, Blane's guiding background, his travel experiences chasing exotic species, and the founding of his own fly design company — The Chocklett Factory. Whether you're a musky junkie, a trout streamer devotee, or a saltwater angler looking to breathe new life into your fly selection, this conversation is full of insight, creativity, and inspiration. Blane shares thoughts on conservation, mentorship, and what the future holds for innovation in the sport. Tune in for a conversation with a true original — someone who's not just tied flies, but transformed how we fish them.After the success of the 2024 Belize and 2023 Baja Bluegrass events, we're excited to bring the experience back to Belize for 2025. Join us November 4–9 at El Pescador Lodge on Ambergris Caye for a five-night, all-inclusive fishing, beach, and bluegrass getaway—exclusively for 30 couples.Waypoints is brought to you by PatagoniaTo bring their gear to life, Patagonia is motivated by relentless curiosity and a passion for the wild. They evaluate hundreds of materials, build dozens of prototypes and spend seasons punishing them in the world's most extreme conditions. The work is the guide, and Patagonia never tires of exploring, learning and improving. Built with innovative materials, intuitive features and a refined fit, their Swiftcurrent® Waders are a better wader experience. Repatterned for bulk reduction, reduced seam stress, increased maneuverability and improved repairability, they move better in and out of the water, carry gear more efficiently and keep tools handy. They're made from recycled materials without intentionally added PFAS—toxic “forever chemicals.- Follow us on Instagram- Follow us on Facebook- Check out our YouTube Page- View the official Yellow Dog website ...

Adam Bell and Peter NikolaidisThe Blurring The Lines Podcast In Episode 232 of Blurring the Lines, Adam Bell and Peter Nikolaidis dive into everything from sweaty summer workouts and mushroom coffee experiments to cheat meals and backpack obsessions. Peter reflects on shifting his training philosophy while Adam preps for a mission trip to Mexico. The […]

What happens when a luxury resort puts people at the heart of everything they do? In this eye-opening conversation with Brian Montgomery of Sirenian Bay Resorts and Villas, we explore how true hospitality extends far beyond guest experiences to transform entire communities.Montgomery reveals the extraordinary investments Sirenian Bay makes in its staff—from providing air-conditioned housing (unheard of in the industry) to offering free meals prepared by dedicated cooks. "We're not going to have somebody stay in something that we would not stay in," he explains, highlighting how this commitment to employee welfare directly translates to the authentic warmth guests experience.The resort's dedication to craftsmanship shines through its in-house woodshop, where seven skilled carpenters create everything from custom wedding arches to the hand-carved doors adorning each villa. Each room is named after local wildlife, with intentionally curated views and experiences that showcase Belize's natural beauty at every turn.Most remarkable is Montgomery's leadership program, providing leadership training and mentorship to local youth in Seine Bight, while introducing them to potential career paths. His cancer journey profoundly shaped this giving philosophy: "Cancer taught me it's not about me anymore," he shares with raw honesty.From repurposing an old satellite dish as welcome signs to naming Snooty's Bar after a beloved manatee, every detail at Sirenian Bay tells a story—one of connection, purpose, and the understanding that luxury can coexist with profound community impact. Experience the magic for yourself at this Belizean paradise where "creating a return guest on our first interaction" isn't just a mission statement—it's woven into the fabric of everything they do.Thanks for your ongoing support!http://paypal.me/TheROAMiesAlexa and RoryThe ROAMiesPlease subscribe, rate and share our podcast! Follow us at:http://www.TheROAMies.comThe ROAMies: Facebook and Instagram YouTube and X.

Missionary Letter - Belize

In 2022 I Visited one of The Most Beautiful

Title: Rare Earths to Truffles: Diversified Investments You've Never Heard Of with Louis O'Connor Summary: In this episode of Raise the Bar Radio, Seth Bradley welcomes back Lou, an international investor, to discuss diversification, rare earth metals, and a unique agricultural investment opportunity. Lou, who splits his time between Europe and Latin America, emphasizes the importance of global diversification for peace of mind and flexibility. He highlights the geopolitical dynamics affecting rare earth metals, where China dominates the refining process, and discusses the increasing demand due to restricted exports. Transitioning from metals to agriculture, Lou introduces his truffle farm investment. Leveraging agri-science and Ireland's favorable climate, the project offers investors ownership of inoculated truffle trees with professional farm management. Returns are projected to begin in year 4-5 and continue for up to 40 years, offering IRRs between 14% to 69% based on historical truffle prices. Risks include mismanagement and natural elements, though strong biosecurity and proven success mitigate concerns. Lou finishes with a valuable mindset tip: improve by 1% daily to compound results over time. Bullet Point Highlights: Diversification across countries and industries provides flexibility and peace of mind China's control of rare earth refining and export restrictions create scarcity and opportunity Truffle farm investment offers strong IRR potential, with returns starting in years 4-5 and lasting 30-40 years Minimum $30K investment includes 400 saplings and full farm management with a 70/30 profit split Primary risks are mismanagement and nature, mitigated through biosecurity and replacement guarantees Lou's golden nugget: Focus on improving 1% daily to unlock exponential long-term growth Transcript: (Seth Bradley) (00:02.062) What's up, builders? This is Raise the Bar Radio, where we talk about building wealth, raising capital, and all in all, raising the bar in your business and your life. This is the No BS podcast for capital raisers, investors, and entrepreneurs who are serious about scaling their business and living life on their own terms. I'm Seth Bradley, securities attorney, real estate investor, and entrepreneur, bringing you world-class strategies from the best in the game.   If you're ready to raise more capital, close bigger deals, build a better you and create true financial freedom, you're in the right place. Let's go. Lou, what's going on, brother? Welcome back to the show.   Thank you very much Seth. Thank you. I'm very happy to be here. Good to see you again.   Yeah, absolutely man. Great to catch up with you. Are you tuning in from where?   Well, in Europe still, you know, I'm back and forth between Ireland, Germany, mostly, a little bit of time in Panama as well, because my wife's from there, but I'm in temporary in Ireland, horse breeding country and agricultural heartland actually of Europe. And at the moment anyway, yeah, so in Europe.   (Seth Bradley) (01:16.664) awesome, awesome. That's the beauty of being on a video conference call that you can talk to anyone from anywhere in the world now. That's the one good thing that came out of COVID is it made it normal to do it.   Yeah, it's funny, unbelievable. Just yesterday I was contacted actually by CNBC in the US, I'm in Europe, about the metals. We're not talking about metals today, but I've spoken with you before about the rare earth metals. And I guess the US chamber, secretary chamber of commerce is in China this week because China is restricting the export of certain technology metals and that's their area.   And within a day, there's like an hour after I speak with you, I'm doing an interview with CNBC on, I think it's Power Launch or something they call it. So it's fascinating really how quickly you can sort of ping around the globe and find somebody and do this.   Yeah, yeah, very cool, very cool, man. Well, thanks for taking the time to tune in with us today. And we've got a brand new thing to talk about and we'll jump into that. But before we do, just for listeners who didn't listen to your previous episode, give us a little bit about your background and your story. Just a general synopsis,   Sure, thank you. Yeah, so I'm obviously, you can tell from the accent, I'm Irish or Scottish or Australian, but it's Irish. And I suppose you could say I'm bit of a world traveler who has come back home specifically for this project we're going to talk about. Ireland is known as sort of the breadbasket of Europe. But yeah, I lived in Germany for 10 years, lived in Central America and traveled extensively in South America during that time.   (Louis O'Connor) (03:05.422) But my niche, if you will, you know one other business we're involved in. And my niche, what I'm looking for is always what I call, I don't know what you might call it in the US, but we sort of call it a path of progress play here, which is if you sort of look at an industry or a product, what's happened in the last 10 years, or even a country or even a business for that matter, if you look at what's happened in the last 10, you can sort of   have a look at likely what's going to happen in the next 10. So I'm always looking for somewhere where demand is increasing and supply is either going to be limited or subject to disruption and somehow, and that's what we will be talking to an agricultural product and we'll talk more about it. But I like to be diversified in every way. So I have business in Germany, this agricultural product is in Ireland.   I do my banking in Belize and Panama and different parts of Europe. So just trying to be as diversified as possible.   Right, right. And that's part of your kind of plan as well, right? Like to be kind of this international man of mystery, right? Like you have different ties to a couple of different countries, which gives you flexibility in case something goes wrong in one of them, right? Like, you know, I think a lot of people were worried here for a while and I think it's still in the back of people's minds in the United States about, you know, the strength of the dollar and   You know, people were talking about getting a second citizenship and things like that. Can you speak to that a little bit about kind of, you know, how you've done that and what your kind of thoughts and feelings are around that?   (Louis O'Connor) (04:46.552) Sure, sure. Well, you my feeling always has this peace of mind, you know, I just want peace of mind. I want to be at peace with myself and the world around me. that's, I mean, I'm probably talking about more philosophically and spiritually as well, but also, you know, in business or residencies or banking. I suppose it's because I left Ireland quite young and I did live.   I didn't just go on a vacation somewhere. lived in Germany for 10 years. I learned the language. Ireland is an island, even though we're part of Europe, continental Europe is completely different. And then I went to Latin America, which is a completely different kettle of fish altogether. And I suppose it was those experiences that the perspective that gave me was that, that sounds very simple, really, root of entry, but there's...   there's good and bad, know, you we do certain things in Ireland very well, and maybe other things not so well in Germany, they do, you know, they've made better cars and better roads. And we do and you know, Latin America, I think they dance better and drink better maybe than you know, but so yeah, what I learned is, you know, you know, you can pick is a bit like life can be a bit like a buffet, and you can pick what you like, and you know what you don't like leave behind, you know, so and the idea, I suppose the point I should make is that   What I've learned is it's not expensive or difficult to be diversified. Like have your banking in different jurisdictions really doesn't cost anything. Having a second or third residency if you do the right homework on I'll go into more detail if you want. have residency still in Panama and I three passports. I'm working on the fourth and it has been a little bit of effort but not expensive or costly.   And will I ever use it? I worried that the world's going to end? No. But it's just that peace of mind you have when you've got these other options that, God forbid if something did happen here in Ireland or Europe, I have a residency in Panama, I banking there. So it's just that, suppose it's like having a parachute or a safety net that's always there.   (Seth Bradley) (07:00.13) Yeah, yeah, I agree. mean, that's, you know, especially the way that things are today and people kind of just worry about things generally, right? If you have that peace of mind and you have that, you know, second or third option, it's just something that can kind of let you sleep at night a little bit better. It's like having a nest egg or, you know, having a second, third, fourth, fifth stream of income.   things like that that can let you sleep at night and while other people are panicking and worrying and making, you know, maybe even bad decisions based on that, you know, based on those worries, you can sleep soundly and make decisions that are best for you.   Yeah, yeah, and you're not limited, know, if you're just, you know, like, I mean, it's funny though, as well, I think it's timely. I think the time has come. I you see people, you know, we were chatting earlier, you know, being involved in multiple different industries and, you know, with technology, we're allowed to do that. We can reside in one country, we can do our bank in another, we can do our tax responsibility somewhere else, we can do our business. So it's probably just in the last 20, 30 years that we can move so freely.   with all this stuff, know, you know, only maybe 25, 30 years ago, I wanted to, I couldn't really do business in Germany, but live in Ireland, it'd have to be one or the other. There was no internet, you know, everything. So, so yeah, I think, I think we're heading in that direction anyway. And it's just, yeah, there's great freedom in it and great peace of mind, even though, you know, I mean, I'll be in Ireland for, you know, my two kids are, there's another six or eight years.   before they finish school. So I plan to be here, but I just have other options as well, you know.   (Seth Bradley) (08:41.42) Yeah, yeah, that's fantastic. And speaking of diversification, mean, your investments are very diverse, right? I mean, in the previous episode, we jumped into rare earth metals. And then in this episode, we're going to jump into something new. Before we jump into the new thing, though, give us a little update on what has changed in your business with the rare earth metals or if anything has changed or how those things are going.   Yeah, well, thanks. Thanks for asking, Seth. Since we spoke, actually, the big news is just in the last 60 days, I think I mentioned to you that China pretty much sort of dominates the rare earth industry. it's, I think really, it's possible and we understand now that China sort of saw before the EU and maybe before the US or they understood at least that rare earths would become   the backbone of manufacturing in the 21st century and they've been, you know, they've taken action on that. So we're in a situation now and it's not really an economic strategy. It's more of a geopolitical strategy that China has big plans for electric cars, big plans for solar, big plans for wind. you know, they, they've hundreds of million people, they're, taken out of the poverty, into the middle class all the time. So sort of   thinking strategically and long term, they rightfully secured their supply of rare earths. And what happened just in the last 60 days is the US sort of initiated a sort of a block. Now it was also supported by Holland and Japan and they're blocking sort of the latest sort of semiconductor technology from going to China. And in retaliation for that, China   You know, they have, you know, an ace up their sleeve, which is where it hurts. So the West has the technology and China has the raw materials. And just in the last 60 days, China has said they're going to, well, effective August 1, which is a month ago, they're restricting the export now of gallium and germanium, which is two of these technology metals, and that China, you know, is responsible for 95 % of the global production. so we're seeing the prices go up and this is sort of.   (Louis O'Connor) (10:57.826) what I talked to you about that these metals are in demand on a good day, you know, you will make a nice return. But if something like this happens where China sort of weaponizes these metals economically, then you'll see prices increasing quite dramatically, which they are. Yeah, that's that's what's happening there. It's basically a market where there's surging demand and you have sort of political landscapes affecting as well. So   It makes for interesting investment.   Yeah, yeah. Are these rare earth metals, are they not something that we can mine or is it something we're not willing to mine, like let's say in the West?   (Louis O'Connor) (11:44.142) Yeah, good question actually. that actually gets right to the heart of it, Seth, because despite the name rare earths, they're not all that rare. Some of them are as sort of common as copper and stuff, but there's about eight or ten of them that are rare and they are available in the US. But this is what's changed dramatically in the last 30 years is the rare earths don't occur naturally. So they always occur as a byproduct of another raw material.   They're sort of, they're very chemically similar. they're, sort of all stuck together. So they have to be extracted and separated and then refined and processed into, you know, high purity levels for jet engines or smartphones or whatever the case might be. what's happened where China dominates is, is China is responsible for 95 % of the refining. Now there's about 200 or sorry, $390 billion available in subsidies in the U S.   from the Inflation Reduction Act, which despite the name is all about energy transition. And that's all very well, except the human capital and the engineering expertise to refine rare earths is depleted in, it doesn't exist in Europe, and it's very much depleted in the US. Just to give you some context, there's 39 universities in China, where they graduate degrees in critical minerals.   So the Chinese are graduating about 200 metallurgists a week, every week for the last 30 years. I think the US has a handful of universities. I'd say there's probably 300,000 metallurgists in China and there might be 400 in the US and probably none in Europe at all. So it's not just a question of if they're there, it's how do we get them into 99.99 % purity? Without the engineering expertise, we can't, not anytime soon anyway.   Wow, yeah, yeah. mean, that just alone sounds like a recipe for a pretty good play for an investment. you know, there's these bottlenecks, right? Whether that's people that can refine it or the actual element itself or willingness to mine it, you know, all these different things come into play to make it a good investment. All right, let's switch over a little bit here. Let's talk about the new investment vehicle.   (Seth Bradley) (14:06.99) that you talked to me about. It's an agricultural play, correct? we're talking about truffles, talking about mushrooms, right? Tell me a little bit about it just to get started here.   Okay, well, you probably I mean, you know, truffles are in the culinary world, they're known as the black diamond of the kitchen, you know, they're, they're a delicacy going back to, you know, thousands and thousands of years. Traditionally, the black perigord, which is the Mediterranean truffle would have originated in France, but for the last sort of, you know, the last 100 years or so,   they've been growing abundantly in sort of South, Southwestern France, Northern Spain and Italy. So traditionally, you know, that's where they grow and they sort of, know, because the truffle, as you said, it's a mushroom that has a symbiotic relationship with a a native tree, an oak tree or hazel tree or sometimes beech. So it's a very delicate balance, you know.   And although I have invested in agriculture before, we started, we, I mean, a collective does not just me involved here, and I don't want to sound like I take credit for any of this really. I was just a part of a team where we had some agri-science people, and we had sort of four generational farmers involved. But we were looking at, it is no question that climate, there's a climate change, right?   It doesn't matter to me whether people, whatever the causes of that are, the reality is if you talk to an olive grower or a truffle grower in Italy or France, they'll tell you the climate has changed because their harvests have been decreasing for about the last 30 to 40 years actually, but really more so in the last 10. So we were sort of, I'll tell you basically the AgriScience partner involved in this.   (Louis O'Connor) (16:10.958) As a test back in 2005, they started to plant and the trees inoculated, the baby trees inoculated with the truffle sort of in the root system as a test all over different countries, not just Ireland, England, UK, also the US. So this has been in sort of research and development since about 2005.   And we got seriously involved in about 2015 when history was made and this Mediterranean truffle was grown here in the British Isles for the first time. we then with our agriscience partner in 2015 planted a thousand trees in five different locations in Ireland where I am.   and one of them is about 20 minutes away from me here. They're all secret locations. I won't even tell you where they are because they really are. They're highly valued or highly prized. And so it takes about four or five years to see if you're a business. So yeah, we now are growing the Mediterranean truffle, not just in Ireland, but in other parts of the UK. But the real interesting thing, Seth, it's just now ready for scale. And all of the farmers,   who were involved in the original research. None of them are going to take it to scale. The one that's local to me is a lovely gentleman. in his 60s and he planted a thousand trees really just as a retirement. His daughter works in banking in Switzerland and so there's nobody really to take over the farm. So we're the first to do it with scale. So we're inviting in...   a portion of some investors in as well.   (Seth Bradley) (18:05.87) Gotcha. Are there specific, I assume there are, are specific growing conditions where these things can prosper? Like I can't, I'm in San Diego, I can't just plant them in my backyard and wait five years and be a millionaire.   Well, if you you if I hear you're growing truffles death, you know, we should assign an NDA we should assign. You could try but no, they wouldn't grow in San Diego because I mean, there's a very delicate balance and you're what you're you're what you're using here is agri science and nature. You're working with nature. And because the reason they've grown so well in demand is   No way.   (Louis O'Connor) (18:48.738) just because of that balance up they get a sort of a dry season or sort of they got to get a lot of rain and then they get the dry season and what's happened is they're getting more drought and less rain and it's just upset the balance. So it's a very, very delicate balance. But what people wouldn't know, I think, is that truffles have always grown wild in Ireland.   There was a time five or 600 years ago when Ireland was 85 % forest and our native tree is the oak and the hazel tree, is the tree that's also where the fungus grows. And what happened was when the Brits were before, you know, when shipbuilding was the thing and the British Navy were, you know, the Spanish were, so the Brits sort of chopped down a lot of the forest for the wood for shipbuilding. you know, our forests were depleted. But to this day,   Truffles do still grow wild here, but we're doing it differently. know, we're only planting on land where you have like certain protein and pH levels and limestone. And then we're planting baby saplings that are already two years old that were inoculated with the truffle fungus like at birth, like in the root system. And we only plant them after we see that the root system and the fungi are already thriving.   So if you get into the right soil and it's already thriving, then two, three, four years later, you'll get truffles.   (Seth Bradley) (20:17.216) the interruption, but we don't do ads. Instead, know that if you're raising capital for real estate, my law firm, RaiseLaw, is here to give you the expert legal guidance you need to raise capital compliantly and structure and close your deal. And if you're looking for a done-for-you fund-to-fund solution, Tribest is the industry's only all-in-one setup and fund administration solution. Visit Raise.Law and Tribest.com to learn more.   That's awesome. just, I think about like wine and like, you know, you can grow it, you know, vines in different places. Some places they grow, some places they don't, some places they grow and the result isn't good and some places they grow and the result is awesome. It's probably a very delicate balance between, you know, environment plus how they're raised, how they're taken care of and all those sorts of things.   It is 100%. I mean, first and foremost, mean, because of angry science and technology today, you know, I mean, we can plant baby saplings that are already and not, I mean, we're playing God a little bit with nature, but you know, I mean, it's just amazing, you know, like you could do it. And then, you know, the biggest threat is actually mismanagement. You know, if you don't then manage it correctly. If you have a root system inoculated with the fungus and you have the right soil conditions,   after that and it's management and it's sort of bio security meaning they have a very pungent smell. mean, squirrels and pigs and they love them. They love to eat. So you have to, mean, you're literally it's like protecting a bank, know, you have a bio security fence. You've you know, you limit visitations to the farm, you've, know, special footwear and cleaning and stuff. so yeah, it's serious stuff, you know.   Yeah. Yeah. Wow. That's awesome. Well, let's dive in a little bit to the kind of the investment itself. Like what does that look like for an investor? Like what are your projected returns? You know, what, how does it all kind of, how does it all shape out? Like you've grown these wildly valuable truffles and now I guess the first step would be what's the business plan? Who are we selling these truffles to? What makes them so valuable? And then get into kind of the investor   (Seth Bradley) (22:33.794) portion like how would someone get involved in whether projector returns.   Okay, so we sell, first of all, the estate that the farm is, it's called Chan Valley Estate. People can Google it, it's beautiful. It's 200 acres of north-temporary farmland. The estate itself, it's a bit like a smaller version of Downton Abbey. It's a Georgian.   a three story Georgian home, it's over 200 years old. It's also a museum and we have events there and it's also a working farm. And it's a herbal farm. So we grow plants and herbs there that we then we have our own, we work the value chain where we also sell those herbs for medicinal purpose and we convert them into medicinal oils and things like that. So the location is already up and running.   And what we're doing with the truffles is for every acre, we can plant 800 trees. And so what we're doing is we're offering investors, well, a client, the minimum investment is $30,000 and the investor for that price gets 400 baby saplings already inoculated with the truffle fungus. And then they get the farm management   included up to the first four to five years. takes about, there'll be truffles after, bearing in mind that the sapling, the baby tree is two years old. So after three years in the ground, it's already five years old and there'll be truffles then and the returns don't begin until then. But what's included in the price is all the farm management, know, all the, you know, the,   (Louis O'Connor) (24:23.508) implementation of the farm, the irrigation, the electricity, the hardware that's needed. So all the management right up until there is production and then when they're producing, the investor gets 70 % of the growth and the farm management company, we get 30%. So it's a 70-30 split. Now the great thing about the oak and the hazel is they'll produce   for 30 to 40 years. it's a long term, it's a legacy investment, you might call it, because you won't see returns until the fourth or fifth year. But once you do, you'll see returns then for another 30 to 35 years. And they're very, very good. mean, we have three numbers in the brochure. We looked at what's...   price half the truffles never dropped below. So we have the very low estimate, which is they've never gone below this price. That brings in an IRR, which would be from day one of about 14%. And then the highest that they've sold for, you're looking at about 69%, but the average is about 38%.   So the returns will be very, very good once production kicks in and then they'll maintain. We've included an inflation for 30 to 40 years. I hope, I think I answered everything there.   Yeah, definitely. sorry. I gave you about six questions there to answer in a row. But yeah, I think you covered everything. And having an IRR, which is time-based on something that has this long of a horizon and even takes four or five years to even start producing, those are really, really strong numbers.   (Louis O'Connor) (26:23.63) Yeah, well, again, even the, you know, one of the reasons obviously we like truffles because they're very, very expensive. mean, they're a luxury product. You know, we're about an hour from Shannon Airport here, which is the transatlantic hub between Europe and the U.S. So we can have truffles in U.S. or anywhere in Europe or even the Middle East or the Far East, for that matter, in less than 24 hours. that's important as well. But they're a luxury item. There's huge demand for them. mean,   You know how the world is. mean, there are, unfortunately, you know, there's always sort of, people are getting richer and some people maybe are getting poorer. But the luxury, you know, high end market and the culinary, international culinary explosion means that, you know, there's huge demand for truffles. And also you have to factor in the fact that the harvests in the Mediterranean are less and less every year. And I mean, very, very sadly,   I mean, it's an opportunity for us, but very sadly that they've done very specific scientific studies and it's going to over the next 50 years, the truffle harvests in the Med will go will decline between 73 and 100%. So literally, they will not be growing truffles there in 50 plus years from now. So that's an opportunity for us. you know, again,   We've been working on this really since 2015. And it was only, you know, it was only 2019, 2020 when we began to get to truffles we knew because there was no guarantee, you know. But yeah, now that we're growing them, we just need to scale up.   Gotcha. Gotcha. what's kind of the I see that you know, for that minimum investment, you get X number of baby saplings. How many was that again? 400. That's what I Okay, 400. What's kind of the survival rate, I guess, of those saplings? Do you have kind of a percentage on that? Is it like?   (Louis O'Connor) (28:17.102) 400   (Louis O'Connor) (28:27.086) Yeah, well, we expect you got what's happening so far is within in about year three, which is actually year five, because the sapling, you should get three of the five trees producing. But once you have production, once that fungi is thriving, it will just continue to grow. So in year four, you should have four of them. In year five, you should have all of them producing.   Now we also put a guarantee in the farm management contract that if any tree, you know, if it dies or if it's not, you know, producing truffles, we'll replace it free of charge at any time. in the event, you know, for some reason, I mean, we put a tree in that's inoculated and it doesn't take, then we just replace it. So either way, over the first four to five years, we get them all. And the great thing is if you protect that soil from   pests and diseases and other sort of unwelcome sort of mycorrhizal or fungi, then it will thrive. It will thrive. It'll keep, you know, it'll spread, you know, it's a symbiotic relationship underground between the tree and the fungi.   Got it. Yeah, that's awesome to know. like survival is not one of the things that we should consider because if for some reason it wouldn't survive or is not producing, then it just gets replaced. So you actually are getting those full 400 saplings turning into trees that will be producing.   almost they mature and produce and you know as I said barring you know any pests or diseases or you know interference then they just continue you just protect them you just allow nature then to do its work.   (Seth Bradley) (30:18.848) Yeah, yeah. So what are some of the risks then? What are the downsides that you can foresee if something were to go wrong? What would it be?   Well, the greatest threat is mismanagement, literally. I obviously we're doing this with scale, so it's a professional endeavor, you know, people from time to time, know, I mean, some of the test sites here, mean, I don't know, it seemed like a good idea at the time, and they're not that hard to manage, but people just lose interest, or the younger kids don't want to farm. But the greatest threat is mismanagement. So as long as you put in these biosecurity measures,   and manage, you know, there's got to be some clearing done, there's got to be some pruning done, there's got to be tree guards. So there is a process involved in bringing them to nurturing them along and then keeping everything, you know, neutral, if you will. that's first, weather is always, you know, factor in agriculture. We don't feel it's as much of a threat here, because although we're for the first time,   growing the Mediterranean truffle. Truffles have grown, they grow here wild anyway. So the climate is right and has been right for thousands of years in Ireland. So, you know, and again, we'll have irrigation as well. You know, we get a lot of rain here. It's not likely we'll need any more rain, but yeah, we, you know, the agri-science will kick in there as well. And then, you know, as I said, like,   you know, biosecurity we call it, which is, you know, very, very serious fencing, limited visits to the farm, know, special footwear if people are going up to the area and sort of rinse. We have a pool area where they have to disinfect before they go into, you know, it's a very, very, very protected area from pests and from diseases or anything, you know, that could be brought in from the outside on whether that's machinery or humans.   (Louis O'Connor) (32:22.892) So yeah, it's almost like a laboratory. mean, you keep it very, very delicate balance and keep it very limited on who visits and, you know, people are a visit, but they have to be properly, you know, the feet have to be cleaned and footwear has to be worn and stuff like that. So, but, know, at the end of the day, Seth, it's, you know, well, any investment really, but agriculture, you know, the final say is in nature's hands, you know, not ours. mean, we...   We like to think, suppose, we're in the results business, but the reality is we're not. in the planning business and all we can do is plan everything as well as we can. It's just like, you if you planted a rose, you know, bush out in your backyard there today, you wouldn't stand outside and will it to grow, right? You know, grow quicker. You know, we have to allow nature and the cosmos to do its work. so yeah, nature has the final say, you know.   Yeah, yeah, no, totally, totally understand. And any investment has its risks, whether you're investing in truffles or real estate or any of the above. Quick question on this. Don't want to paint you like in a bad way at all, but we have had and it's not you, of course, of course, but we've had an influx of bad sponsors and people that are anything from mismanaging investor capital on one end, which can happen pretty easily. And there's not a whole lot of   Not a lot of bad blood there. Things happen. And then on the other side of the spectrum, we've seen everything from fraud to Ponzi schemes and all kinds of stuff lately. One thing that I tell investors is to make sure you know who you're investing with and make sure your investing dollars are actually getting invested where they're supposed to. Could an investor invest with you and actually go to the farm?   and see their saplings or see the farm and see this business.   (Louis O'Connor) (34:24.654) 100 % in fact, we would rather people do I mean, I it's not always possible. Right. But Shan Valley Estate, I mean, I'll give you the website and stuff after Shan Valley Estate. It's a 200 acre farm. It's already a museum. have events there. It's a herb dispensary as I said, as I said, it's our our manage our farm management partner is the Duggan family, their fourth generation farmers and they're being in temporary, you know,   longer than that even. absolutely, you you know, of course, there's legal contracts. mean, people get a legal contract for the purchase of the trees and then we have a legal contract for the farm management that we're responsible for implementing the project, we're responsible for bringing the hard, the trees to truffles to harvest. But we do, we just beginning, we just had our first tour, but it was sort of Europe from Germany. Last, sorry,   the 18th, 19th of August. But we will be having tours every quarter. And if anybody wants to come at any time, we'd be delighted to have them because it's like I said, it's like a smaller version of Downton Abbey. And we've accommodated, we converted the stables into accommodation, you know, because we have weddings and events and stuff there as well. It's not just a field that we bought.   Yeah.   And so it's a big deal. I'll give you the website. The location is spectacular and clients can, you know, stay the night, you know, and there's a three story Georgian estate house and the bottom floor is a museum. So it's like walking into a pharmacy from 1840, all the bottles and the counter is 200 years old, you know, and then the middle level, we've an organic vegetarian restaurant, all the   (Louis O'Connor) (36:17.24) food is grown on the farm. There's an old walled garden that they used to wall the gardens years ago to keep out the pests. And all the food that's served is grown on the farm. And then the top floor is accommodation as well and the stables have been converted. look, it's all about trust, Seth. And, you know, I would say to anybody, you've   I mean myself, if I have any doubt about anything, don't do it. And it might not be that somebody's a scam or a fraud, it's just if you're not 100 % sure about it, don't touch it. But what I would recommend is people do their due diligence because we've done ours. We've eight years invested in it, put a lot of time and effort into it. And at the very least, we'd like people to check it out and see it all the way through.   for what it is. yeah, we'll be, we're hoping to, we have a partner in Europe and we're to connect with somebody in North America. I don't want name anybody here because it might not come off, but there's a few sort of marketers and there's plenty obviously that we might sort of do a sort of an agreement with where they'll, you know, I mean, we could even have sort of investment real estate conferences on the farm.   you know, and do farm tours as well. so definitely 100 % we'd love for people to visit and, and they get to drink some Guinness and they're really brave, they can swim in the Irish sea.   Yeah, and I'm looking at the website right now. We'll drop that in the show notes, but it is absolutely gorgeous. I mean, it's making me want to get on a plane right now and check it out. It's incredible.   (Louis O'Connor) (38:00.046) Yeah, that's the estate, shambali.ie. I mean, what I love about it's 100 % organic or members of the Irish Organic Association, track ref, fourth generation. You know, this is not me, I'm a part of this, but the farm management team are, you know, they're already like growing herbs and plants and converting them to medicinal, you know, oils and things. And this is just another, it's more of a farming enterprise, I suppose, than a farm.   And then the other partner is the Agri Science Partner, which is this team of scientists who basically made history by growing for the very first time eight years ago, the black, the Mediterranean truffle in Ireland, you know, so there's a lot of professionalism and thought and effort being put into a chap.   Love that. Love that man. Is there anything else about this type of investment that I didn't ask about that I should have?   I think you know Seth, you should be on CNN or something because I you did. I'm pretty sure you did, you definitely covered it. I mean I may have left something out but I think it's a good foundation for somebody if they're interested, I'll give them my email and you know it's not that expensive to get to Europe and it's a great way to mix a holiday and you know come to the farm and stuff you know.   Absolutely, absolutely. Well, since you're repeat guest of the guest of the show, we won't go into the freedom for but you have one last golden nugget for our listeners.   (Louis O'Connor) (39:34.446) You know, I knew you were going to ask me that, Seth, you caught me off guard. So I have one ready and I stole this from someone else. So I'm not going to take it. But I was listening to a guy last week and he, sort of a big operation in Europe. And he was talking about a phrase they have in the office and it's 1%. And they always look at each other and when you pass them, they go 1%. And I love what it's about. It's about the idea that in a way it sort of comes back to what we talked about earlier, which is forget about.   Yeah.   (Louis O'Connor) (40:04.664) the fact don't think you're in the results business. You're in the planning business. And the 1 % is every day, try and improve every little action. I'm not just talking about work. I'm talking about family, your spiritual practice, if you have one, increase it by 1 % every day. And you know, it's like compound interest, isn't it? That in a way, then you don't have to worry about the big picture. And the results will just look after themselves then, you know.   Yeah, yeah, I love that man. Always improve. mean, you you've got to take small steps to get to those big goals. And a lot of times you just need to ask yourself, did I improve 1 % today? If the answer is yes, then it was a successful day.   Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And it's great because, you know, if I was to try and think now, or you were to try and think now, everything you have to do in the next three weeks, right, you just be overwhelmed, right. And sometimes my head is like that, you know, I mean, I've got meditation practice and stuff, but I watch my thoughts and you know, I mean, it's it's a fact. I mean, it's a human condition. I don't know, some disestimates of how many thoughts do we have a day? How many are repetitive and how many are useless?   A lot of them are repetitive, a lot of them are useless. So it's good just to narrow it right down to what's the next thing I can do right now and can I do it 1 % better than I did yesterday, you know?   Absolutely. Love that man. All right, Lou, we're gonna let us find out more about you.   (Louis O'Connor) (41:34.954) Okay, so they can email me. It's Truffle Farm Invest. Sorry, it's a new website www.trufflefarminvest.com or they can if somebody from your your audience wants to email me directly, it's louis at trufflefarminvest.com   Alright, perfect man. We'll drop all that in the show notes. Thanks again for coming on the show. Always a pleasure, brother.   Thank you very much, Seth. A pleasure.   (Seth Bradley) (42:08.088) Thanks for tuning in to Raise the Bar Radio. If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Keep pushing, keep building, and keep raising the bar. Until next time, enjoy the journey. Links from the Show and Guest Info and Links: Seth Bradley's Links: https://x.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.youtube.com/@sethbradleyesq www.facebook.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.threads.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.instagram.com/sethbradleyesq/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbradleyesq/ https://passiveincomeattorney.com/seth-bradley/ https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/sethbradleyesq https://medium.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en Louis O'Connor's Links: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100054362234822 https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-o-connor-a583341b8/ https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/08/30/strategic-metals-founder-louis-oaconnor-breaks-down-china-u-s-rare-metal-wars.html

Is music truly the universal language? Yes — in more ways than you might know! In Music Makers (Side B) we continue our exploration of music and musicians. Nichole and Evan take a trip to Belize and sit in with drummers carrying on the African Garifuna Drumming tradition and gearing up for the "Battle of the Drums." Evan talks with bluegrass pioneer Ron Thomason of the Dry Branch Fire Squad about mandolins, guitars, horses, and how to use your own body as a drum. You'll learn the story of the Voyager Golden Record, a record all about human experience on Earth that was sent to space in the hopes aliens might one day find it. As of now it's 15 billion miles away in interstellar space! In Cryptid Corner Evan investigates the Fossegrim, a harmless, damp Norwegian creature who's extremely good at playing the fiddle. On top of that you'll hear all the usual segments you've come to know and love: Animal Call, Grandparent Story, Favorite Sound, jokes and a riddle. Join us as we continue our sonic exploration of the universal language that is music, and let's get WILD!Timestamps for this episode are available below. Parents: visit our website to help your kids contribute jokes or favorite sounds, or to send us a message:  www.wildinterest.com/submissions00:00 - Episode 14 Intro01:43 - Ron Thomason08:59 - Animal Call Clue09:28 - Word of Mouth09:44 - Garifuna Drummers Kirwin Ramirez and Kayton Martinez17:48 - Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters22:10 - Riddle Clue22:28 - Favorite Sound23:21 - Grandparent Stories: Eileen29:59 - Animal Call Reprise30:11 - Cryptid Corner: The Fossegrim33:16 - Joke Time34:03 - Call for Submissions34:28 - Animal Call Reveal35:42 - Voyager Golden Record46:51 - Riddle Answer47:16 - Preview of Episode 1548:10 - Credits48:34 - BloopersClick here for tickets to Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters in Nashvillewildinterest.com

It's another peppersode! Just call us The Indistinguishable Professors with Limited Virtues as we push through our rotundone sensitivities to taste these high pitched smells. Molly takes a risk, Matthew can't get it together and Mr. Botany crashes the show before we ask the age old question: what is lop? Episode 252: PeppercornsHere's a great blog post from Casa Mascia Apothecary about producing white pepper at home in Belize.Pickled Cabbage Stir-fry with PorkStir-Fried Rice Cakes (Nian Gao)Matthew's Now but Wow! - Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon.  Support Spilled Milk Podcast!Molly's SubstackMatthew's Bands: Early to the Airport and Twilight DinersProducer Abby's WebsiteListen to our spinoff show Dire DesiresJoin our reddit

We talk about punta. We talk about soca. We talk about calypso. We talk about merengue. We talk about salsa. We talk about ska. We talk about rocksteady. We talk about dubstep. We talk about dancehall. We talk about Oral. We talk about Belize country songs. Oh and I think we remembered to talk about Queen...If little Eric were to title this episode, he'd probably call it "Tear It Up" or possibly, "and tape it back together again so you don't get in trouble with your mum"!Today's episode looks at Brian's attempt to drag Queen back onto the classic classic rock station! It's time to "Tear It Up"!NOTE: Skip forward to 30:25 if wanna get straight into the manifestations and wheel spin.The music at the end of the episode is "Kind Of Love", by the Cardinal's fantastic band Absofunkinlutely. You can go find that here: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=AY7s1tQxREkIf you want to get involved in the Kofi Klub, you can make a donation here: https://ko-fi.com/seasidepodreview and let us know which song you want us to add to the wheel! We also have a private channel in our Discord community for donors.Follow us onFacebook: @seasidepodreviewDiscord: https://discord.gg/nrzr2mQjBluesky: @seasidepodreview.bsky.socialKo-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/seasidepodreviewAlso, check out Kev's other podcastsThe Tom Petty Project: https://tompettyproject.comThe Ultimate Catalogue Clash: https://shows.acast.com/uccAnd if you want to check out Randy's music, you can find it here:https://randywoodsband.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when a life-threatening cancer diagnosis transforms into a mission to create paradise? The ROAMies welcome Brian Montgomery, founder of SIrenian Bay Resort in Placencia, Belize, who shares his extraordinary journey from facing terminal cancer to building an award-winning luxury destination.Brian's story begins with humble roots in Mississippi and a devastating diagnosis at 38 years old that gave him just six months to live. After nine months of treatment and a life-saving bone marrow transplant, Brian and his wife Brenda emerged with a completely different perspective on life. They sold their Texas company in 2012 and set out to build a simple beach house somewhere beautiful. Upon visiting Belize, they immediately fell in love with the country and its people, purchasing a property centered around two palm trees that would become the foundation of their first villa.What makes Sirenian Bay truly special isn't just its modern luxury amenities or stunning beachfront location. The heart of the resort lies in Brian's revolutionary approach to leadership and staff development. His "Above the Line" philosophy focuses on positivity, purpose, and believing in people who had never been believed in before. This approach recently earned Sirenian Bay recognition from Expedia as offering the best customer experience in all of Belize.The resort wasn't built according to a master plan or with profit as the primary motive. Rather, it evolved organically from Brian and Brenda's genuine love for Belize and desire to share their slice of paradise with others. What began as a retirement home to visit 4-6 weeks annually has blossomed into a destination where guests become friends and staff feel like family.This inspiring conversation reveals how the most meaningful creations often come from the heart, not the balance sheet. Join us as we explore how one man's second chance at life became an opportunity to transform not just his own future, but an entire community's as well.Thanks for your ongoing support!http://paypal.me/TheROAMiesAlexa and RoryThe ROAMiesPlease subscribe, rate and share our podcast! Follow us at:http://www.TheROAMies.comThe ROAMies: Facebook and Instagram YouTube and X.

Dr. Johnathan Canton is an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary, where his lab uses advanced microscopy techniques to study dendritic cells, macrophages, and innate immunity. He talks about his career journey from studying tropical parasites to investigating phagocytes. He also discusses using advanced microscopy techniques, studying the mechanisms of dendritic cell cross-presentation, and running a farm in Belize.

In this special episode of Waypoints, host Jim Klug sits down with longtime friend, business partner, and fellow saltwater addict Ian Davis to talk about an incredible project nearly a decade in the making. Ian – a renowned angler, illustrator, fly designer, and global trip host – has just released his highly anticipated new book, A Passion for Bonefish. This landmark publication is the result of more than eight years of dedicated work, extensive travel, in-depth research, and conversations with some of the most legendary names in saltwater fly fishing. The book is more than just a technical guide or glossy photo journal. Rather, it's a heartfelt tribute to one of the most iconic fish in the sport and a celebration of the places, people, and culture that surround the pursuit of bonefish.As the co-owner of Yellow Dog Flyfishing (a sponsor of Waypoints), Ian brings a wealth of personal experience to the conversation - having chased bonefish across the globe for more than 30 years. In this episode, Ian and Jim dive deep into the evolution of the book, the insights it delivers, and the reasons why bonefish continue to capture the hearts of so many fly anglers. From gear tips and fly selection to destination highlights, conservation concerns, and bonefishing strategy, this conversation is a must-listen for anyone who love fishing the flats and those that plan to in the future. Whether you're new to bonefishing or a seasoned saltwater veteran, Ian's knowledge, stories, and passion for the species shine through in what promises to be one of the most engaging episodes of the season.After the success of the 2024 Belize and 2023 Baja Bluegrass events, we're excited to bring the experience back to Belize for 2025. Join us November 4–9 at El Pescador Lodge on Ambergris Caye for a five-night, all-inclusive fishing, beach, and bluegrass getaway—exclusively for 30 couples.Waypoints is brought to you by PatagoniaTo bring their gear to life, Patagonia is motivated by relentless curiosity and a passion for the wild. They evaluate hundreds of materials, build dozens of prototypes and spend seasons punishing them in the world's most extreme conditions. The work is the guide, and Patagonia never tires of exploring, learning and improving. Built with innovative materials, intuitive features and a refined fit, their Swiftcurrent® Waders are a better wader experience. Repatterned for bulk reduction, reduced seam stress, increased maneuverability and improved repairability, they move better in and out of the water, carry gear more efficiently and keep tools handy. They're made from recycled materials without intentionally added PFAS—toxic “forever chemicals.- Follow us on Instagram- Follow us on Facebook- Check out our YouTube Page- View the official Yellow Dog website ...

In this episode of The Archaeology Show, we kick things off with a look at the recent discovery of a treasure-filled tomb belonging to the first known ruler of a Maya city in Belize, shedding light on ancient Maya leadership and ritual. In segments two and three, we dive into the latest headline-grabbing claim that Atlantis has been found off the coast of Spain. We break down what was actually discovered, examine the credentials of the lead researcher, and explore why the scientific community remains highly skeptical. Join us for a smart, approachable discussion that separates archaeological fact from fiction.LinksArchaeologists Unearth Treasure-Filled Tomb Belonging to the First Known Ruler of a Maya City in BelizeScientists find tomb of a Maya king and his ancient treasures. But who was he?Archaeologist Says He's Found Atlantis in Groundbreaking DiscoveryArchaeologist claims to have found Atlantis off the coast of Spain and has video to prove itAtlantis Found (Again)! And Exasperated Scientists (Again) Raise Their EyebrowsCosmic Summit 2025: The Mount Everest of Laughable Pseudoarchaeological Nonsense! - Ep 165Cosmic Summit 2025. Flint's BRUTAL Reaction with Dr Andrew KinkellaContactChris Websterchris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.comRachel Rodenrachel@unraveleddesigns.comRachelUnraveled (Instagram)ArchPodNetAPN Website: https://www.archpodnet.comAPN Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CWBhb2T2edAPN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnetAPN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnetAPN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnetAPN ShopAffiliatesMotion

Ryan is back on the podcast! After sharing his couples trip to Costa Rica last year on Episode 15, he returns with another couples summer getaway, this time to Placencia, Belize. The best part - this fabulous trip started as a school auction prize!In June 2025, Ryan and three other couples headed to a stunning vacation home in Belize complete with a private chef, daily laundry service, and even a personal boat driver who took them to dinner by sea. From snorkeling adventures to a BBQ on a private island, the group relaxed and enjoyed paradise.This episode is presented by Level 8 Luggage. Use code PreAS20 for 20% site-wide in July! I'm loving the 20-inch Luminous Carry On in Pink.Buy Me a CoffeeEarn free travel by applying for my favorite travel credit card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred, with my link!Mentioned in this episode:- Gecko Vacation Rentals in Belize- Island Time Gecko vacation rental home in Placencia, Belize- Belize City- Cessna Grand Caravan Turboprop Plane- Manatees- Restaurants: Barefoot Bar, Tipsy Tuna, Tutti Frutti Gelato, Omar's, Rum Fish, Placencia Yacht Club- Turtle Inn - A Francis Ford Coppola Hideaway- Snorkeling in Belize National Parks- Global Entry

In this episode of The Archaeology Show, we kick things off with a look at the recent discovery of a treasure-filled tomb belonging to the first known ruler of a Maya city in Belize, shedding light on ancient Maya leadership and ritual. In segments two and three, we dive into the latest headline-grabbing claim that Atlantis has been found off the coast of Spain. We break down what was actually discovered, examine the credentials of the lead researcher, and explore why the scientific community remains highly skeptical. Join us for a smart, approachable discussion that separates archaeological fact from fiction.LinksArchaeologists Unearth Treasure-Filled Tomb Belonging to the First Known Ruler of a Maya City in BelizeScientists find tomb of a Maya king and his ancient treasures. But who was he?Archaeologist Says He's Found Atlantis in Groundbreaking DiscoveryArchaeologist claims to have found Atlantis off the coast of Spain and has video to prove itAtlantis Found (Again)! And Exasperated Scientists (Again) Raise Their EyebrowsCosmic Summit 2025: The Mount Everest of Laughable Pseudoarchaeological Nonsense! - Ep 165Cosmic Summit 2025. Flint's BRUTAL Reaction with Dr Andrew KinkellaContactChris Websterchris@archaeologypodcastnetwork.comRachel Rodenrachel@unraveleddesigns.comRachelUnraveled (Instagram)ArchPodNetAPN Website: https://www.archpodnet.comAPN Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CWBhb2T2edAPN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnetAPN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnetAPN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnetAPN ShopAffiliatesMotion

Iowa Lottery Fraud Which Led to Arrests and a Book. The story sounds like something out of a true crime documentary or Hollywood Crime Drama: cyber crime, deception, a mysterious offshore trust, and even Bigfoot hunting. But this wasn't fiction, it was real life in Iowa. And it led to one of the most shocking lottery fraud cases in U.S. history, resulting in arrests, a best-selling book, international news headlines, and millions in stolen winnings. The episode is also promoted across their Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , Medium and other social media platforms. At the center of the storm was Terry Rich, the former President and CEO of the Iowa Lottery. Under his leadership, the organization uncovered a plot so bizarre and calculated that it threatened to undermine the entire $80 billion lottery industry. This episode of The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast now streaming for free on their website, in addition to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and most major social podcast platforms. “It was like nothing we had ever seen before,” said Rich in a recent interview. “We were dealing with someone on the inside who had found a way to game a system designed to be foolproof.” The scandal began to unravel in 2010 when a $14.3 million Hot Lotto jackpot went unclaimed for nearly a year. Eventually, a mysterious attempt to claim the prize emerged, through an anonymous trust in Belize. Suspicious of the secrecy, Rich and the Iowa Lottery refused to pay out. Iowa Lottery Fraud Which Led to Arrests and a Book. Look for supporting stories about this and much more from Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast in platforms like Medium , Blogspot and Linkedin . “We had one simple rule: if we don't know who's behind the claim, we don't pay,” Rich explained. That decision kicked off a decade-long investigation, filled with twists and turns that investigators and journalists alike have described as “unbelievable.” Surveillance footage from a convenience store eventually led to the arrest of the primary suspect, the former information security director at the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). Available for free on their website and streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms He used his privileged access to install a rootkit, a hidden piece of software, on the computer that generated winning numbers for the Hot Lotto game. This allowed him to predict and rig lottery outcomes in multiple states including Iowa, Colorado, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Oklahoma. In 2015, the primary suspect was convicted on two counts of fraud for attempting to claim the Hot Lotto prize. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and later received a 25-year sentence for broader conspiracy charges. However, he was released on parole in 2022 after serving just five years. Iowa Lottery Fraud Which Led to Arrests and a Book. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast episode is available for free on their website , Apple Podcasts , Spotify and most major podcast platforms. But the thief didn't act alone. The scandal, now dubbed “The Hot Lotto Fraud”, eventually exposed a network of co-conspirators including his brother, a former Texas Justice of the Peace, and a Texas businessman. All were involved in a scheme that dated back as far as 2005 and exploited specific calendar dates to produce predictable winning numbers. “They figured out how to rig a random number generator,” said veteran journalist Perry Beeman, who co-authored the book The $80 Billion Gamble with Rich. “It was the perfect crime, until it wasn't.” You can listen to his stories and interview on our website for free in addition to platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and other major podcast platforms. Their book, which is now available wherever books are sold, takes readers deep inside the case using court documents, phone calls, emails, and public records. It's part true crime, part white-collar investigation, and fully jaw-dropping. “We wrote the book not just to tell the story,” said Beeman, “but to show how transparency and relentless pursuit of the truth led to justice.” The full podcast episode is streaming now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and across Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. The story gained national attention, appearing in media outlets like CNN, CBS, 20/20, and The New York Times. Terry Rich also shared insights on various social media platforms, speaking candidly about the challenges his team faced. Iowa Lottery Fraud Which Led to Arrests and a Book. “When you realize someone on the inside is stealing from the public, it shakes your foundation,” Rich said in one Instagram video. “But we were committed to getting it right.” Following the scandal, Hot Lotto was discontinued in 2017, replaced by Lotto America. A subsequent lawsuit even saw a legitimate winner suing for damages after the jackpot he won had been reset due to the thieves' earlier rigged win. That case settled out of court in 2019. While the thieves crime stunned the country, Rich's role in uncovering it cemented his legacy. During his 25-year career, he not only led the Iowa Lottery to increase sales and profits by 50%, but also turned the Blank Park Zoo around financially and launched four successful businesses. His diverse career includes appearances on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, executive roles in TV production, and creating other tv content. Be sure to follow the Law Enforcement Talk Radi Show on their website also promoted across their Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , Medium and other platforms. “I've always believed in integrity, whether it's in business, media, or government,” Rich said. “That belief is what guided us through this entire ordeal.” Today, Rich continues to share the story through keynote speeches, podcasts, and online content, hoping to inspire a new generation of leaders to put honesty and public trust above all. The Iowa Lottery, which has raised more than $2 billion for state programs since its launch in 1985, continues to be a key player in national lotteries like Powerball, Mega Millions, and others. In fact, the largest prize ever won in Iowa came in October 2018, when one ticket claimed $343.9 million. Iowa Lottery Fraud Which Led to Arrests and a Book. The full podcast episode is streaming now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and across Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. As Rich puts it: “The lottery is about hope, dreams, and fairness. We had to protect that, at any cost.” For those fascinated by cyber crime, insider deception, and the power of persistence, The $80 Billion Gamble offers a gripping and insightful read. And for anyone curious about how modern fraud can be exposed, even when hidden in plain sight, it's a story worth sharing across every platform: from Facebook to YouTube, from Apple to Spotify, and across the news media landscape. The full podcast episode is streaming now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and across Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. You can help contribute money to make the Gunrunner Movie . The film that Hollywood won't touch. It is about a now Retired Police Officer that was shot 6 times while investigating Gunrunning. He died 3 times during Medical treatment and was resuscitated. You can join the fight by giving a monetary “gift” to help ensure the making of his film at agunrunnerfilm.com . Your golden years are supposed to be easy and worry free, at least in regards to finances. If you are over 70, you can turn your life insurance policy into cash. Visit LetSavings.com , LetSavings.com or call (866) 480-4252, (866) 480-4252, again that's (866) 480 4252 to see if you qualify. Learn useful tips and strategies to increase your Facebook Success with John Jay Wiley. Both free and paid content are available on this Patreon page . Time is running out to secure the Medicare coverage you deserve! Whether you're enrolling for the first time or looking for a better plan, our experts help you compare options to get more benefits, lower costs, and keep your doctors, all for free! Visit LetHealthy.com , that's LetHealthy.com or call (866) 427-1225, (866) 427-1222 to learn more. Find a wide variety of great podcasts online at The Podcast Zone Facebook Page , look for the one with the bright green logo. Be sure to check out our website . Be sure to follow us on MeWe , X , Instagram , Facebook, Pinterest, Linkedin and other social media platforms for the latest episodes and news. Background song Hurricane is used with permission from the band Dark Horse Flyer. You can contact John J. “Jay” Wiley by email at Jay@letradio.com , or learn more about him on their website . Get the latest news articles, without all the bias and spin, from the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast on Medium , which is free. Iowa Lottery Fraud Which Led to Arrests and a Book. Attributions TerrySpeaks.com Amazon.com Wikipedia Youtube

Ever wondered what it's like to grind your own chocolate on a centuries-old Mayan stone or snorkel alongside harmless sharks off a private Caribbean island? Join us as we dive into our adventures with Captain Jak's excursions in Placencia, Belize!We take you behind the scenes of this remarkable tour company headquartered at Sirenian Bay Resort, sharing the touching story of how the original Captain Jack's legacy lives on through his friend who purchased the business after Jack's passing. From there, we journey through lush jungles to experience a traditional chocolate farm where we learned about cacao cultivation, tasted the surprisingly delicious fruit surrounding cacao beans, and participated in the ancient art of chocolate-making using techniques passed down through generations.Our adventures continue at a hidden three-tiered waterfall system that felt plucked straight from a movie set. Picture this: crystal-clear pools perfect for cliff jumping, tiny fish providing natural "spa treatments" by nibbling dead skin cells from your feet, and refreshing swims surrounded by pristine jungle. As if that wasn't enough, we recount our unforgettable catamaran journey to Moho Key, a private island where we snorkeled through vibrant coral reefs, encountered docile nurse sharks and stingrays, and enjoyed fresh-grilled meals on a picture-perfect beach.What makes Captain Jak's truly special is their commitment to personalized experiences – whether you're seeking adventure, romance, or cultural immersion, they craft bespoke excursions tailored to your desires. We also share insider tips about visiting Belize during May's shoulder season, when you can enjoy summer weather without the winter crowds.Subscribe now to hear more about our Belizean adventures, including our upcoming episode featuring the remarkable Sirenian Bay Resort where we stayed throughout our journey!Thanks for your ongoing support!http://paypal.me/TheROAMiesAlexa and RoryThe ROAMiesPlease subscribe, rate and share our podcast! Follow us at:http://www.TheROAMies.comThe ROAMies: Facebook and Instagram YouTube and X.

In this episode, I'm breaking down the exact cold calling system that helped me build a multi-million dollar real estate business — and yes, it still works in 2025.Cold calling might sound old school, but if you're serious about off-market real estate deals (whether you're flipping, wholesaling, or doing commercial acquisitions), this is the blueprint you need. I walk you through the full playbook — from list stacking and skip tracing to dialer setup, hiring virtual assistants, and knowing your KPIs.I've personally staffed over 500 cold callers across 78 countries and built call centers in Egypt, the Philippines, and Belize. So when I say I've tested this stuff, I mean it. Whether you're just getting started or looking to scale your real estate pipeline, I'm giving you the full backend on how to build a cold calling machine that prints leads — and revenue.If you've been on the fence about cold calling, give this episode a listen. This strategy changed my business, and it might just do the same for yours.Want to be around other people who are still doing deals?Join our free skool community below — with 800+ investors and agents, live calls, and coaching resources. No cost, just show up and engage.https://www.skool.com/offmarketmethod/about?ref=791b3644f63045c9a6d3d8634e57c1f1You're only one deal away.Connect with Cole Ruud-JohnsonInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/coleruudjohnsonTwitter: https://twitter.com/coleruudjohnson

S 6, EP 191 Meet Your Actor Series - Amy SelmaThis week Gaby brings Amy Selma to the Chaos table!   We get to hear all about Amy's journey into voiceover - from a tiny town on the boarder of Mexico and Belize in the jungle, to the fields of Minnesota,  and then to the Hollywood lights in LA!   Meet Amy Selma an award winning, bilingual Spanish/English voice actor, who was born in Mexico and raised in the Caribbean by her Belizean parents.    She is celebrated for her clear, neutral accent in both languages with a versatile and engaging deliver!   Amy jumped into the great wide world of voice over thanks to the suggestion of her husband, Nico Selma, an Animation director at Nickelodeon.  However she did not originally set out to become a voice over actor, Amy has a degree in Industrial & Product Design from el Tech de Monterrey along with many cool job experiences before getting started as a Voiceover artist.  We hear all about Amy's journey, along with her refreshing perspective on the life of a voice actor, her insightful mind set choices to tap into, how following your path but also eventually listening to those who support you & gently push you to actually going for your dreams is an important part of the journey as well. When Amy is not in the booth she is in the backyard playing with her two kids,   watching a webtoon, playing a video game, planning a road trip or happily buried in a book learning something new!Join us at the Chaos table for this next episode of our signature Meet Your Actor Series with Amy Selma! More about Amy - https://linktr.ee/amyselmavohttps://x.com/amyselmaVOhttps://www.facebook.com/amyselmavoiceoverhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/amyselmavo/https://www.instagram.com/amyselmavo/Hi thx for listening in on the Creative Chaos conversation! Text us your thoughts on pieces of this conversation that inspired you or was relatable in your creative journey! Support the showThis is a shareable podcast, with a group of creatives, documenting their creative voice over & on-camera journeys to inspire all of us as we navigate our own paths! This pod may bring some amazing moments of inspiration, ah-ha break throughs or a feeling you're not the only one...but it is for entertainment and not educational purposes! Enjoy and thank you for listening to our Creative Chaos! *Have a creative story or journey to share, we'd love to hear it - email us at chaoskeepers411@gmail.com or jozlynrocki@gmail.com Follow all the Chaos - Website - https://www.keepingupwithchaos.net/ FB - https://www.facebook.com/keepingupwithchaospodcastIG - https://www.instagram.com/keeping_up_with_chaos/

Dr. Jeanette MacLean, a trailblazer in minimally invasive SDF practices, joins Dr. Joel Berg to discuss how observations and a willingness to try a different approach can positively benefit both providers and patients. Dr. MacLean shares how her own learning experiences seeing the same patients year after year in private practice led to her desire to consider less aggressive treatment options. She also delves into how the collaborative pediatric dental community was imperative in guiding her path. Guest Bio: Dr. Jeanette MacLean has been in private practice as an Owner for 20 years. As an appointee to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry's Speakers Bureau and has provided lectures across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as webinars viewed in over 40 countries. Dr. MacLean graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Northern Arizona University in 1999. She received her dental degree, with honors, from the University of Southern California in 2003 and completed her specialty training in pediatric dentistry in 2005 at the Sunrise Children's Hospital through the University of Nevada School of Medicine. Dr. MacLean is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, Fellow of the American College of Dentists, Fellow of the Pierre Fauchard Academy, and Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. Her research has been published in the journals Pediatric Dentistry, the Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry, the British Dental Journal, and Compendium. She has been featured twice in the New York Times: She is also an active member of the Central Arizona Dental Society, the Arizona Dental Association, the American Dental Association, the Arizona Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. She is married to Timothy Budd, an attorney, and they have a son, Charlie, and a daughter, Sabrina. She has donated her time to underprivileged children both locally and in Mexico, Belize, and Costa Rica, and has been honored for her volunteer work and humanitarian achievements. She speaks conversational Spanish, and her interests include party planning, crafts, Jazzercise and all things Disney. She is also active in Local First Arizona, the Arizona Dental Associations' AHCCCS Subcommittee and Women in Dentistry group. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to Part 2 of the Patagonia Swiftcurrent miniseries. Today, we speak with Alex Gonsiewski about a fishing trip that did not go as planned. Alex is a flyfishing guide in Oregon, where he targets trout and summer steelhead on the Deschutes River, summer steelhead on the John Day, and winter steelhead on the North Oregon coast. Between rainbow runs, Alex hosts angling trips around the world. He's taken clients to Mexico, Belize, Bolivia, Alaska, Christmas Island, and Puerto Rico. In 2023, Alex and a group of clients flew to Sudan for nine days of fishing on the Red Sea's Nubian Flats. Unfortunately, while Alex and company were on the water, the country fell into a vicious civil war that has since claimed the lives of 150,000 people and displaced more than thirteen million. To find out more about Alex and see his stunning photography, you can visit his website: https://www.alexgonsiewski.com/ or find him on IG: @alexgonsiewski Many thanks to Patagonia for making this episode possible. To check out their brand new Swiftcurrent Waders and find out how you can win an Alaskan fishing adventure, visit this link: https://drakemag.com/swiftcurrent-wader-contest/

Greg and Ed introduce Season 8 of the podcast first by looking back and all that has been achieved. Greg runs through some crazy stats, just a few of which are that there have been a total of 885 shows and more than 1.6 million (!) total streams or downloads. Insane!  Next, the guys check in with Season 1 co-host Tony Joh and frequent podcast guest Phra Phandit. Tony relates his journey first to Japan and then back to Canada, and his business of vlogging his solo motorcycle adventures. Luckily he's doing great, and Greg and he shared some early podcast stories.  Phra Pandit then tells his own Canada story and brings us up to date on his various retreat projects. Last, Greg and Ed do a Zoom call with the podfather himself, Evo Terra. Evo is at home in Arizona having recently returned from Belize. He recaps his EARLY career in podcasting for listeners new to the show and then brings us up to date on his business producing mainly fiction performance shows. The legend continues!  The guys sign off with promises of great things to come in the new season. Don't forget that Patrons get the ad-free version of the show as well as swag and other perks. We also sometimes post on Facebook, you can contact us on LINE and of course, head to our website (www.bangkokpodcast.com) to find out probably more info than you need to know.

We are happy to welcome Ashley Harding to the podcast this episode. Ashley is a fourth-generation educator and is deeply committed to educational equity. She holds degrees from USC and Tufts University in Child Development, and her career spans more than a decade, during which she has supported students and families in private and independent schools and contributed to global education initiatives in South Africa and Belize. Formerly the Director of External Engagement for a national school network, she has co-authored research on disparities affecting Black and Latino males and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal. Through her organization, North Star Academics, and her roles with BEAN and CHADD, Ashley empowers students with evidence-based strategies and advocates for those with learning differences. Ashley discusses how parents can reframe the summer from a "deficit mindset" to an "opportunity mindset" for their children, stressing the importance of balance and allowing students time for rest, rejuvenation, and exploration of their interests outside of academics. She explains that while academic growth is incredibly important during the school year, the summer months provide a critical window for students to develop their identity, independence, and executive functioning skills, and she encourages parents to avoid overwhelming children with intensive academic programs and instead focus on activities that build upon confidence, self-reflection, and a sense of belonging. Our conversation highlights the need for families (both parents and students) to take time for rest and reconnection over the summer, with Ashley suggesting a plan that gradually transitions from unstructured free time in June to more purposeful activities in July and August, such as previewing curriculum, reviewing foundational skills, and setting new goals for the upcoming school year. We also discuss the importance of real-world learning experiences such as cooking, budgeting, and travel, which can naturally reinforce academic concepts while also nurturing executive functioning abilities. Ashley stresses the importance of allowing children, especially older ones, the freedom to explore their interests and discover their passions during the summer months. This episode of the show provides a thoughtful and balanced approach to supporting students' overall development during the summer break, with a focus on building upon resilience, independence, and a renewed sense of purpose for the next academic year! Show Notes: [3:03] - Ashley Harding highlights summer as a time for rest and emotional integration after academic growth. [5:53] - Ashley points out how colleges tend to value well-roundedness, which begins with developing personal interests as early as middle school. [8:12] - Especially post-COVID, students and families need rest to recover from years of ongoing emotional exhaustion. [10:27] - Ashley believes that June should involve winding down, celebrating growth, and gently preparing for the next school year. [13:10] - Immediate academic intensity post-school year can overwhelm neurodivergent kids in need of rest. [14:20] - Ashley urges families to teach kids balance by allowing rest as an act of resistance. [17:02] - Summer is such an important time for families to rest, reconnect, and nurture mental health together. [18:12] - Children ultimately model behavior from parents, so truly resting teaches them balance over productivity. [22:14] - Ashley argues that fun, low-pressure activities such as cooking can help kids grasp and retain math concepts more effectively. [24:17] - Ashley likes reminding families to do as much real-world, practical learning as possible. [27:37] - Kids may need more sleep and rest, but they do still benefit from consistent routine and structure. [29:20] - Summer offers kids space for self-reflection and growth beyond just grades and academic pressure. [31:35] - Ashley points out how summer is ideal for reinforcing key executive functioning skills like memory, time management, and planning. [33:36] - Allowing kids to self-monitor can help build confidence and resilience. [36:44] - Unstructured time helps parents rediscover their children and builds upon a deeper sense of belonging at home. [39:23] - Summer is such a gift because it offers time to reconnect, regroup, and learn more about your growing child! Links and Related Resources: Episode 92: Executive Functioning Skills Over the Summer with Michelle Porjes Episode 154: Why Self-Efficacy and Self-Advocacy are Important for Diverse Learners with Ashley Harding Frostig School - Website Connect with Us: Get on our Email List Book a Consultation Get Support and Connect with a ChildNEXUS Provider Register for Our Self-Paced Mini Courses: Support for Parents Who Have Children with ADHD, Anxiety, or Dyslexia  Connect with Ashley: Ashley's Page on ChildNEXUS North Star Academics - Website North Star Academics - Instagram Page Phone: 310-853-3208  

Thank you to Sirenian Bay Resorts and Villas! sirenianbay.comHave you ever dreamed of escaping to a tropical paradise where palm trees sway, crystal waters beckon, and adventure awaits around every corner? Join us as we kick off our summer series exploring Placencia, Belize—a stunning 16-mile peninsula that captivated us from the moment we arrived.This episode serves as your comprehensive guide to planning the perfect Belizean getaway. We break down everything from what to pack (multiple swimsuits are non-negotiable!), to navigating flights with Tropic Air's scenic puddle jumpers that offer breathtaking aerial views of mountains, rainforests, and winding rivers. You'll appreciate our practical tips about currency (the easy 2:1 exchange rate makes math simple), language (English is the official language), and the fascinating cultural mosaic that makes Belize so unique.Discover accommodation options that cater to every preference—from Serenian Bay, Belize's only all-inclusive resort where we stayed, to private islands with personal chefs, to the garden paradise of Cieba Beach Resort. We take you behind the scenes of each property, sharing the distinct atmosphere and amenities you'll find. Transportation is a breeze with golf carts from Captain Jack's for peninsula exploration and boat taxis for island hopping.What makes this episode particularly valuable is our firsthand experience navigating the quirks of Belizean travel—like how to handle those pesky "no-see-ums" (sand fleas), the unexpected flexibility of flight schedules, and local customs you won't find in typical travel guides. We even share the story of a mysterious bird encounter that left even long-time locals puzzled!Whether you're actively planning a trip or simply dreaming of your next escape, this episode will transport you to the sunny shores of Placencia. Subscribe now to join us next week as we dive deeper into our adventures with snorkeling, spice farms, chocolate making, and more unforgettable experiences from our Belizean journey.Destinations by Kami, LLC: destinationsbykami@gmail.com, 419-957-2087Dream Vacations:JoAnne:  jmichaud@dreamvacations.com, 919-452-0227Gecko Vacation Rentals: reservations@geckovacations.com 972-383-4443Prana Maya Island Resort: info@pranamayaresort.com 888-487-2011Thanks for your ongoing support!http://paypal.me/TheROAMiesAlexa and RoryThe ROAMiesPlease subscribe, rate and share our podcast! Follow us at:http://www.TheROAMies.comThe ROAMies: Facebook and Instagram YouTube and X.

Season 62, Episodes 194-203, Spoiler Level MS (Medium Spoilers) Sidwell loses his cool on the parapet. Natalia and Willow are excellent at their tragic stories. Will a baseball glove be what finally takes Sonny down? Who is stalking Daisy? Will Portia finally become a strong character? What is Brook Lynn actually trying to do to LuLu? So many unanswered questions. Thank you for listening to our General Hospital podcast. If you enjoyed it, please subscribe and tell your friends. Drop us a review. And let us know your own musings and theories and fashion notes. Reach Stacy at Alexis@areweghing.com and Kathy at Felicia@areweghing.com. For more information, please visit us at www.areweghing.com Recorded 6-27-25, Music by Grammy award winning Alex Robinson https://www.musicbyalexrobinson.com/ and logo by the equally as amazing Jakob Evans.

• Promo for Jeff's Bagel Run and Summer of Sips drinks • Use #TDBagel for monthly giveaways • Show opens from the Just Call Mo Studio • Savannah Boan joins in-studio, plays Deadpool pinball, shares disco aunt story • Talks Chirag, South Carolina roots, and jumping a train to get to work • Addresses fan misconceptions about past absences—just scheduling, no drama • Wildlife influencer and Gatorland rep discusses needing credit in conservation • Dan jokes about craving credit like his dad; influencer culture toxicity discussed • Savannah blocks trolls to avoid bandwagon hate; Dan never blocks • Savannah meets Tom & Dan fans at Gatorland, praises niche wildlife creators • Girl becomes cicada influencer; cicadas vs. toxic lubber grasshoppers clarified • Savannah named official Tom & Dan wildlife correspondent • Fans fabricate drama between her and Chris Gillette; they made joint video to clarify • Savannah gets strange DMs; impersonated online by teen scammer feeding fake gators • Legal action taken; catfishing dangers highlighted • Recognized at LAX; has met celebs through reptile work • Praise for Steve Irwin's no-gimmick fame; Savannah's voice and tattoos make her stand out • Grew up around monster trucks; dad built Carolina Crusher • Ran away at 16 to work as Cinderella; ended up partying with Billy Idol • Shares awkward Nick Swardson encounter and better meeting with TJ Miller • Treats celebs like regular people; most aren't that weird • Presented croc talk to Aussie scientists, forced them to take selfies • Sees herself as bridge between science, zoos, and public • Push to make conservation engaging and accessible • Mentions viral gator dummy video and Gatorland Global travels • Visited Australia, Jamaica, Cuba, Belize, Mexico; missed India trip due to COVID • South Africa trip included rhino dehorning and friend Dingo's death by snakebite • Rhino horns removed via helicopter-assisted vet crew; antiseptic and tags applied • Explains wild dogs' gruesome hunts and lion mating patterns • Lions tranquilized with baited zebra for contraceptives and blood work • Rhino and lion work brought staff to tears; sacrifice explained • Initiation involved drinking elephant dung water with venomous death adder nearby • Close elephant encounter; kicked beer can nearly provoked it • Savannah values rare access to behind-the-scenes wildlife work • Gatorland audience fades if crocs not involved; one panther there hates her • Story of wild gator leaping into a tree for birds • Modern humans are soft compared to wild animals in constant survival mode • Vote for Gatorland as Best Theme Park in Orlando Weekly • JustCallMoe.com promo and upcoming Cimarron Skateway event • Savannah's close inyala encounter at lodge; laid next to her, ate TP, watched TV • Contracted African tick bite fever; symptoms appeared back in U.S. • Got botfly from Cuban tree rat; missed its emergence on camera • Talk on authenticity in wildlife media; Bear Grylls faked past survival content • Dangerous boat encounter with hippos; they walk riverbeds and kill more than crocs • Raised pet hippo story ends in tragedy; maturity turns animals aggressive • Savannah balances kid-friendly content with high-risk animal work • Marine Corps background and past goal of air traffic control • Struggles of influencer life—millions of views but under a million subs • Running a show or channel requires nonstop work behind the scenes • Tom's family trip to Sweden; Savannah recalls chaotic Times Square • Drew Barrymore show visit; connected more with Ross Mathews • Some newsrooms felt hostile; entertainer mode helps smooth tension • Praises Orlando and Florida for supporting weird local talent • Cuba is her favorite place; Northern Australia is a close second • Crocodiles are more dangerous than gators; Australia's wildness fascinates her • Australians question trips to NT unless for crocs; she loves the remoteness • Got lost finding the studio; invited to return anytime ### **Social Media:**   [Website](https://tomanddan.com/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/tomanddanlive) | [Facebook](https://facebook.com/amediocretime) | [Instagram](https://instagram.com/tomanddanlive) **Where to Find the Show:**   [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-mediocre-time/id334142682) | [Google Podcasts](https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2FtZWRpb2NyZXRpbWUvcG9kY2FzdC54bWw) | [TuneIn](https://tunein.com/podcasts/Comedy/A-Mediocre-Time-p364156/) **The Tom & Dan Radio Show on Real Radio 104.1:**   [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-corporate-time/id975258990) | [Google Podcasts](https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2Fjb3Jwb3JhdGV0aW1lL3BvZGNhc3QueG1s) | [TuneIn](https://tunein.com/podcasts/Comedy/A-Corporate-Time-p1038501/) **Exclusive Content:** [Join BDM](https://tomanddan.com/registration) **Merch:** [Shop Tom & Dan](https://tomanddan.myshopify.com/)

Welcome to the Arete Coach Podcast hosted by Severin Sorensen with an episode titled "Leading with Kindness: On Executive Coaching and Cultural Intelligence." In this episode, Severin engages with Dr. Krista Crawford, a distinguished Vistage Chair, speaker, consultant, professor, and leadership strategist. Krista holds a PhD in Organizational Management and is a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). With over 30 years of experience spanning human resources, organizational development, and executive leadership, she has significantly impacted leaders across corporate and nonprofit sectors. This episode was recorded on March 26th, 2025, via Zoom. Krista's journey into executive coaching and Vistage Chairing is as unique as it is inspiring. After decades in HR, where she led organizations with up to 8,000 employees, Krista transitioned into leadership coaching serendipitously during the COVID-19 pandemic. A neighbor introduced her to Vistage, leading to her eventual certification and the establishment of multiple peer advisory groups. Her career is deeply rooted in observing and addressing the human dynamics within organizations. Krista identified early the gaps in leadership development, particularly how some employees flourish while others feel disconnected. Her doctoral research focused on "social monitoring" and "cultural intelligence," exploring how individuals adapt and integrate into diverse cultural settings. Conducted in Belize with service-learning students, her research revealed that active engagement with local cultures significantly enhances cultural intelligence. Beyond her coaching, Krista serves as an adjunct professor at Virginia Tech and Champlain College, teaching leadership, ethics, and organizational development. She brings a rich blend of academic rigor and practical experience, leveraging her HR expertise, research acumen, and passion for continuous learning to guide executives and emerging leaders. Key Insights 1. The Art of Listening and Pausing Krista emphasizes the importance of listening to hear rather than listening to respond. In coaching, silence is a powerful tool, allowing clients to reflect deeply. She practices intentional breathing to create space for reflection and meaningful dialogue. 2. The Power of Vulnerability and Group Dynamics She highlights how vulnerability within peer groups fosters deeper trust and growth. Krista shared a pivotal moment when a group conflict tested cohesion; addressing it transparently strengthened the group's unity and resilience. 3. Job Crafting for Engagement Krista advocates for job crafting, encouraging leaders to engage employees in designing roles that align with their strengths and passions, thus enhancing satisfaction and retention. 4. Measuring Success Through Joy Joy serves as Krista's personal metric for professional fulfillment. She believes that work should bring joy and that leaders should reassess their roles when joy diminishes. 5. Use of Psychometrics and AI in Coaching Krista integrates tools like Wiley DiSC and various psychometric assessments to deepen understanding of team dynamics. She also creatively employs AI for ideation, content creation, and meeting preparation, demonstrating adaptability to emerging technologies. 6. Kindness and Continuous Learning as Guiding Values Krista's mantras of "kindness is underrated" and lifelong learning reflect her approach to leadership and coaching. She stresses the importance of being both kind and courageous in providing candid, constructive feedback. The Arete Coach Podcast explores the art and science of executive coaching. You can find more about this podcast at aretecoach.io. This episode was recorded on March 26, 2025 Copyright © 2025 by Arete Coach™ LLC. All rights reserved.

Adorned in shades of peridot green, sapphire blue, and onyx black, the Green Jay is a jewel-toned wonder with a voice as loud as its color palette. Their range is split over two regions, one from southern Texas to northern Belize and a second along the Andes Mountains from Venezuela to Bolivia. Green Jays often forage in family flocks where their noisy, rasping chatter helps ward off predators and keep their colorful kin together.This episode is sponsored by Bruce Heyne, in thanks to all those who steward the parks, refuges, and nature preserves that support birds — especially in Deep South Texas where Green Jays thrive.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.